Plenty of college Football Action ahead on Saturday. Which games are going to be an absolute joke and which ones are worth watching and are there any upsets on the horizon? Lets see:
(15) UCF vs. Temple
UCF is off to a nice start in Conference USA V 2.0 as they have the inside track to the conference championship and a spot in a BCS-bowl. For a few years, Temple was a nice story as they went from getting kicked out of the Big East, eventually landing in the MAC, starting to play well, getting begged to return to the Big East in time for the name change, only to fall flat on their face. Expect the same to happen to Temple on Saturday.
UCF 42 Temple 3
Game Type: One Sided
(3) Ohio State vs. Illinois
Ohio State's high ranking comes with the disclaimer that we don't know how they'd do against elite competition because they haven't played that much elite competition. They can score all the points they want but that perception will be impossible to change on Saturday.
Ohio State 63 Illinois 10
Game Type: Run Up the Score
Iowa State vs. (22) Oklahoma
Granted, Oklahoma has been a disappointment and basically no-showed to last Thursday's game against Baylor. Lucky for them, they have a terrible team to take out their frustrations on.
Oklahoma 56 Iowa State 17
Game Type: Run Up the Score
Indiana vs. (17) Wisconsin
The best of the 9am games (which isn't saying much). In recent years this match up would see Wisconsin's offense but up video game numbers against Indiana. While that part of the equation is unlikely to change, Indiana has shown a propensity to light up the scoreboard as well this year (even if their defense is still sub-standard). Expect lots of Touchdowns in this one.
Wisconsin 70 Indiana 42
Game Type: What is this Defense you Speak of?
(24) Miami vs. Duke
Miami has been free falling down the rankings ever since they started playing some actual competition. Duke may have spent several years as a football laughingstock but they are quietly putting up a good season. My prediction is come Monday, Duke will be in the top 25 and Miami will not.
Duke 21 Miami 10
Game Type: Mild Upset
Syracuse vs. (2) Florida State
Florida State continues their dominant season and scoring lots of points against mediocre competition in this one.
Florida State 56 Syracuse 21
Game Type: Run up the Score
(25) Georgia vs. (7) Auburn
The afternoon's first match up between two Top 25 teams. Georgia has under performed and is not making it back to the SEC Championship game but there is the possibility that Auburn may be distracted and looking ahead to the huge Iron Bowl match up against Alabama.
Georgia 28 Auburn 24
Game Type: Mild Upset, One of Better Games of Afternoon
(14) Michigan State vs. Nebraska
They say that defense wins games and Nebraska loses four games a year, no more & no less. A strong Michigan State defense plus Nebraska only having two losses to date equals Michigan State winning in solid but unspectacular fashion.
Michigan State 24 Nebraska 10
Game Type: Defensive Struggle
(12) Oklahoma State vs. (23) Texas
Our second top-24 battle of the afternoon. Oklahoma State doesn't give off the vibe that they are as good as their ranking. Meanwhile, Texas has rebounded nicely over the last couple months and prevented what appeared to be a sure-fire disaster ridden 5-7 season (like the one Florida is having from happening). The Texas redemption tour continues here.
Texas 38 Oklahoma State 30
Game Type: One of Better Afternoon Games, Not sure if this could be considered an upset
Utah vs. (6) Oregon
Twisted logic could dictate a Utah upset here. Utah beat Stanford and Stanford beat Oregon. In retrospect, Utah over Stanford is probably the most inexplicable game of the year and I think Oregon bounces back and takes out their frustration on a very average Utah team.
Oregon 73 Utah 10
Game Type: Run up the Score
Texas Tech vs. (4) Baylor
A few weeks back the profiles of these two teams were similar. Teams that got off to a nice start and had strong rankings on the backs of primarily weak opponents. While Texas Tech fell short against the Oklahoma & Oklahoma States of the world, Baylor passed their first test with flying colors and have aspirations beyond just a nice season. Turn away from the TV momentarily and you might miss about 2-3 touchdowns.
Baylor 84 Texas Tech 49
Game Type: Defense??? Whats that??
(1) Alabama vs. Mississippi State
It seems like MSU has to play a ranked opponent every week and not win. No reason to suspect this week is any different.
Alabama 35 Mississippi State 10
Game Type: One Sided
(5) Stanford vs. USC
Stanford needs to stay on top of it to avoid a let down after an beating Oregon. If this was played while Kiffin was still coaching, this game would be a pretty one sided affair. USC has played much better over the last month. I think this game is better than expected but I don't think USC has enough in them to pull off the upset.
Stanford 31 USC 20
Game Type: Better than Expected
Oregon State vs. (21) Arizona State
Not a bad night cap. Expect a lot of offense in this match up between a couple of solid but not spectacular Pac 12 teams. Arizona State barely escaped Utah last week but I think they lose a highly entertaining game here.
Oregon State 49 Arizona State 38
Game Type: Upset Special
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