Syracuse at Clemson

Analysis:

Clemson officially named Trevor Lawrence the starting quarterback on Monday meaning Lawrence will get every rep at quarterback (we’ll get to the stuff with Kelly Bryant later). Last week against Georgia Tech, Clemson saw a great rushing performance from Travis Etienne showing what he is capable of. Clemson’s defensive line was able to slow down Georgia Tech’s triple option. A surprise on the defensive line was the solid play of true freshman defensive end Xavier Thomas who has struggled to get reps on this loaded defensive line. Georgia Tech drooped back to pass 12 times and had a quarterback sack happen four times. Clemson will also not take this game lightly after losing to Syracuse last year. For Syracuse, Eric Dungey had a good performance at quarterback in the pass game and running game. Dungey had five total touchdowns on the day. Sean Riley had 120 yards receiving and a touchdown off of a punt return last week as well. For Syracuse to pull off the upset again, Dungey will need an outstanding performance.

Prediction:

The Trevor Lawrence hype train builds even more with a 41-10 win.

West Virginia at Texas Tech

Analysis:

West Virginia comes into this game at 3-0 with all blowout wins. On the other hand, West Virginia has not played a quality opponent yet (sorry Tennessee). Will Grier three for 356 yards and five touchdowns last week against Kansas State. Their receiving core of David Sills, Marcus Simms, and Tevin Bush dominates the Kansas State secondary. Linebacker David Long helped the defense hold Kansas State to six points with nice tackles and two sacks. In order to win their defense will need to create stops in this likely shootout. Texas Tech seems to have a newfound defense after their win against Oklahoma State last week. They also have found their starting quarterback in Alan Bowman. Bowman has thrown for over 1,000 yards in his two starts. DeMarcus Felton rushed for over 100 yards last week as well. To win this game, Bowman needs to continue his form, and their defense must make some stops.

Prediction:

Texas Tech wins outright 48-45 in a full blown shootout.

Pittsburgh at UCF

Analysis:

UCF comes into this game undefeated (they haven’t declared the national title yet). In their win against FAU last week, UCF was led by six total touchdowns from McKenzie Milton. Their offense was performing at the top of its game putting up 56 points on FAU last week. There are some concerns defensively as they allowed 36 points to a less talented team and 320 yards on the ground. Pittsburgh also has a good offense that UCF will need to stop. Pittsburgh came up short against North Carolina last week. Kenny Pickett has looked better at quarterback but still hasn’t done quite enough to elevate their offense to their better times a few years ago (yeah I just looked back nostalgically on an offense led by Nathan Peterman). Qadree Ollison and Marquise Ffrench (I still can’t get over the spelling of that name) are both multifaceted weapons and big play threats on offense that defenses have to plan for. The Panthers have also seen improvements on defense compared to last year. Pittsburgh’s defense will need to play well against UCF if they want to see a win.

Prediction:

UCF wins 45-34 in a game with a lot of offense and big plays.

Baylor at Oklahoma

Analysis:

Oklahoma’s defense will be licking their wounds this week after being on the field for 44 minutes in their last game against Army. Oklahoma might need to be worried about the wear and tear from that game seeping into this week. Kenneth Murray had 28 total tackles, Curtis Bolton had 23, and Mark Jackson Jr. had 15. It is commonly known that teams typically do not play as well the week after playing a triple option team. Their offense should not have these concerns. While Kyler Murray only threw for 165 yards, he threw for 11 yards per attempt. Trey Sermon has done well at running back filling in for the injured Rodney Anderson. Sermon had 119 yards rushing last week. Even if the Sooners come into this game with a defense not at 100 percent, their offense should be able to bail them out. Baylor comes into this game at 3-1 (tripling their win total from last year) but they have yet to beat a quality team. Charlie Brewer has done well at quarterback, throwing for three touchdowns last week. Baylor has some weapons on offense, but concern lies with them being remotely able to stop one of, if not the most high powered offense in the country. A Baylor win is highly unlikely but it is possible as they came within a score of knocking off Oklahoma last year.

Prediction:

Oklahoma wins 52-27 as Kyler Murray has a field day, and Baylor is unable to stop the Sooners offense.

Florida at Mississippi State

Analysis:

Florida comes into this game from stomping on a bad Tennessee team. The Gators offense looks improved from last year as they have hung 45 points in three different games this year. Feleipe Franks has definitely improved (I still have no idea if he is good or not). Florida has many threats at receiver and a solid running back in Jordan Scarlett. What is concerning is that Florida’s offense stalled against the one good team they have played this year (Kentucky). In order to win this game, their defense will need to make some stops and provide good field position for their offense. Mississippi State comes into this game off of an embarrassing loss against Kentucky last week. Nick Fitzgerald did not perform to his capabilities and the run game went nowhere. On the bright side, Kentucky is a better team than Florida (that feels very weird to say when talking about football). I think some of this can just be chalked up to the Bulldogs just having an off week. Mississippi State will definitely come to play this week as they will want to beat their old coach at his new job. It is also quite likely the crowd will be crazy in Starkville.

Prediction:

Mississippi State wins 27-23 in a pretty ugly game. The announcers mention that Dan Mullen used to coach at Mississippi State approximately 5,000 times.

Virginia Tech at Duke

Analysis:

Duke comes into this game undefeated. Their closest game was a 13 point win over Baylor. With all that said, Virginia Tech will be the best team they have played. Daniel Jones is questionable to return for the game at quarterback, but Quentin Harris has done quite well in his absence. Harris looks to do the same thing to Virginia Tech’s defense as Old Dominion’s quarterback, Blake LaRussa, did last week. Between Harris and Brittain Brown, Duke has a very solid rushing attack. Leonard Johnson, and the Blue Devils secondary also look to take advantage of Virginia Tech playing their second string quarterback. Virginia Tech suffered a pretty embarrassing loss last week where they gave up the most points ever given up by a Bud Foster defense. Josh Jackson is out, but Ryan Willis does have experience as a starter, and can be trusted more than the typical backup. Running back Steven Peoples will likely be relied upon quite a bit. A key to this game for Virginia Tech will be for their secondary to slow down Duke’s receiving core.

Prediction:

Duke wins 31-27 in a game where their fans forget about Basketball momentarily.

Ohio State at Penn State

Analysis:

This is one the two matchups this week that feature two undefeated top 10 teams. Ohio State is off to a very hot start led by quarterback Dwayne Haskins. Haskins has lit up every defense he has faced while throwing 16 touchdowns to just one interception as well as a 75% completion percentage. Ohio State also features one of the country’s best backfields with JK Dobbins and Mike Weber. What is concerning for the Buckeyes is that Nick Bosa is out for a considerable amount of time. Their defense on paper looks very pedestrian without Bosa, and this will be their first game where I could be proven wrong. After a shaky first game of the season, Penn State has definitely played better. While he’s still no Saquon Barkley, Miles Sanders is a very good running back, having rushed for 495 yards this season. Trace McSorley has been good but has not quite lived up to the hype he received before the season started. It still is hard to be very critical of an offense that averages 55.5 points per game. Penn State will need to find a way to slow down Ohio State’s offense. Jonthan Sutherland has been a playmaker for the Nittany Lions defense, and will need to continue that. This game is a white out game for Penn State, and the crowd at Beaver Stadium will be very loud.

Prediction:

Penn State pulls off the win 41-38. This game will be an instant classic just like last year’s matchup.

South Carolina at Kentucky

Analysis:

The second place spot in the SEC East looks to be on the line in this game. South Carolina took care of Vanderbilt in their last game. Jake Bentley did not have the best performance, but I still have confidence in him as a good starting quarterback. Rico Dowdle has 112 yards on the ground last week. Deebo Samuel has been a solid receiver but not quite the game breaker that many people expected. The key for South Carolina will be to get past Kentucky’s offensive line, and slowing down Benny Snell. Javon Kinlaw has been a force on the Gamecocks defensive line, and will need to continue being a force by not only slowing down Snell, but also by forcing Terry Wilson into bad throws. Kentucky comes into this game not only undefeated, but also pretty proven as they have taken down two SEC opponents. Benny Snell takes a lions share of the workload at running back, with 25 carries last week. Snell is backed by a strong offensive line, and a solid running quarterback in Terry Wilson who has an arm that has improved (it has gone from bad to just kind of bad). The game for Kentucky really just comes down to Snell and their offensive line.

Prediction:

Kentucky wins 28-20. Benny Snell runs all over South Carolina.

Stanford at Notre Dame

Analysis:

Stanford survived a game last week that they looked bound to lose. The bad news for Stanford is that this game will be on the road again against a better team. KJ Costello looked good last week as it seemed Oregon’s defense dared him to beat them, and he had 327 yards passing and three touchdowns. Bryce Love did not have the best game, but Oregon seemed to exhaust their resources on trying to stop him. Stanford has a very good crew of emerging pass catchers in JJ Arcega-Whiteside, and tight ends Kaden Smith, and Colby Parkinson. If Stanford can have their defensive backs play as well as they did later on against Oregon, that will put them in great position to win. Paulson Adebo really impressed me with his coverage in the Oregon game. It would also be nice for Stanford if linebackers Bobby Okereke, Sean Barton, and Jordan Fox play as well as they did in the second half against Oregon. Notre Dame seems to have completely renovated and improved their offense by going with Ian Book at quarterback. Book scored five total touchdowns in last week’s victory over Wake Forest. Notre Dame will also see Dexter Williams returning to the lineup. Notre Dame will need to try and slow down Bryce Love but also make sure KJ Costello does not shred their defense either. This game will be tough for Notre Dame’s defense, but they will still be the bard defense Stanford has played.

Prediction:

Stanford wins a gritty game 23-20. Bryce Love runs for a lot of yards.

BYU at Washington

Analysis:

BYU comes into this game at 3-1 and with a win at Wisconsin (Wisconsin’s first home loss in two years) under their belt. Tanner Mangum (did you know this dude graduated high school the same time as Jameis Winston) is a solid quarterback and Squally Canada (awesome name) has done well in his reps at running back. Corbin Kaufusi was on many preseason All American watch lists and has lived up to that hype. BYU has a solid defense led by Kaufusi, who hopes to stop Washington’s offense. Through their first four games, Washington still seems like they have not reached their full potential yet. Jake Browning and Myles Gaskin make up a very solid backfield. Their defense has started to reach elite status. Last week against Arizona State, linebacker Ben Burr-Kirven registered 20 total tackles. Their secondary is among the best in the country led by Taylor Rapp and JoJo McIntosh.

Prediction:

Washington wins 35-20 in a game where they are ahead the entire time.

Ole Miss at LSU

Analysis:

Ole Miss has a very high powered offense with an amazing receiving core. The downside is that their defense can not stop anybody. Their offense also stalled out (except for the first play of the game) against an elite defense when they played Alabama. Jordan Ta’amu is puts up good yardage, but I worry about his efficiency as he completed only 31% of his passes against Alabama. For Ole Miss to win this game, their offense will need to be firing on all cylinders. LSU is 4-0 and has two very impressive wins on their record (Miami and at Auburn). Joe Burrow hits his throws when they matter and Nick Brossette looks to be next on the list of great LSU running backs. The key to this game for LSU will be to slow down Ole Miss’s receivers. With Greedy Williams and Grant Delpit in the secondary, it looks to be a doable task.

Prediction:

LSU wins 38-24 as they run all over Ole Miss’s defense.

Oregon at California

Analysis:

California might be the most random undefeated team in the country so far. They still have not decided a starting quarterback, deciding between Chase Garbers, Brandon McIlwain, and Ross Bowers though Garbers has looked the best and taken the most reps. California has an improved defense that has held their opponents to just 19 points per game. That defense is led by linebackers Evan Weaver and Jordan Kunaszyk. Their defense will be put to the test this week as they will face by far the best offense and quarterback they have played so far. The Golden Bears are also coming off of a bye week so they will come into this game energized. Oregon is coming off of a heartbreaking loss against Stanford where they had many opportunities to seal the game but just could not do it. Their offense showed a lot of promise and Justin Herbert is showing why many believe he will be the first quarterback off the board in next year’s draft. Dillon Mitchell had a breakout game last week with 239 yards receiving, and CJ Verdell had 115 yards on the ground. Oregon is the more talented team in this game and should show that.

Prediction:

Oregon wins 31-28. California proves they are no pushover.

My Thoughts On the Kelly Bryant and Jalen Hurts Situations

So it appears as though both of the two most prominent quarterback battles (or situations or controversies depending on what you want to call it). of the preseason have finally reached their resolution. For Alabama, Jalen Hurts has said that he will play out this year as the backup to Tua Tagovailoa. For Clemson, Trevor Lawrence was officially named the starter. Kelly Bryant has decided to grad transfer instead of riding out his senior year as a backup.

The decision made by Jalen Hurts is a very commendable one. It is not very often that you see higher profile quarterbacks choose to stay at their school as a backup once it is clear they will not be starting. The situation with Hurts stings (I refrained from using hurts as the verb there) because he was so close to being the quarterback that led Alabama to the National Title in 2016. Hurts had a 27-2 record as a starter and was a part of a National Title team. Unfortunately, he was benched and had to watch Alabama take the National Title from the sidelines. What made me feel awful for him was to see him get interviewed after that game. What impressed me was how well he answered the questions and how much he seemed to be rooting for Tua. What is sad about the decision Hurts has made is that he definitely could start at many schools, but he just happens to be on the most talent loaded team in college football and he is there at the same time as the most talented quarterback they have had in recent memory. Instead of transferring after the National Title, taking a redshirt year this year then transferring, or even trying a position change, he is deciding to stay at quarterback at Alabama. It is very honorable but part of me wishes he would go somewhere else just to see how well he would do, what kind of player he could become, and see it is possible for him to make it into the NFL. By him deciding to stay as a backup, it seems like he is unofficially giving up on his NFL dreams (I know he would likely play another position if he went to the NFL, but it would still help if he was out there playing). It has been said that he wants to get into coaching so I guess then it would make sense to play under the best college football coach of this generation. I just wonder how much of an opportunity he has missed by staying at Alabama. I know Hurts will be met with criticism and will be accused of “just accepting being a backup and not fighting” but he just wants to do what is in his best interest. Also I am sure he will still be competing every day in hopes of getting another opportunity. It also has not been ruled out that he will just transfer after this season.

After Trevor Lawrence was named the starter for Clemson, Kelly Bryant was left with a tough choice. He could do what Jalen Hurts is doing and spend his last season as a backup, or he could transfer right now, have one more year of eligibility and find a starting job elsewhere. Bryant chose the latter and transferred out. I think Bryant made the right decision. He has one year left of college football and is a long shot pro prospect. If he spends his last year on the bench, it is basically a certainty he will not make the NFL, but it is still possible if he can have another good year as a starter. He also did not look bad in his time at quarterback this season. I think we have to wait to see where he lands to fully evaluate the decision, but I think this was the right choice for him. This decision will also be met with criticism as I am sure people will call him a diva for transferring. I say that Bryant is just trying to make the most out of his college career. Players have to look out for themselves and find the best place for them. Bryant is doing just that by transferring. I also do not believe he is quitting on the team like many may suggest. He gave it his shot and is bowing out gracefully. I will definitely be interested in seeing where Bryant ends up in 2019.

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