Week 13

Oregon vs USC – This game is the most intriguing game this weekend, as there are significant College Football Playoff implication for both teams. USC sits at 8-2 and there is a shot of them actually making the playoffs, that is as long as they win out, which is totally possible. Oregon is currently slated to receive an invite but if they lose to USC that invitation will be in jeopardy   because they don’t have a season defining win on their schedule, that and losing to Indiana. USC has flown under the radar this season, but they do have a top 10 offense, they rank 6^th in yards per play at 7.43 yards. They are explosive in both rushing the ball where they average 6.0 yards per carry and in passing, they have a 55.7% success rate. They are extremely effective in finishing their drives even though they run their offense at a modest tempo, which is not a trademark of HC Lincoln Riley, but it is working. Their two losses are to Illinois and Notre Dame, but beating the Ducks on their own homefield would be a signature win. The offense of the Trojans has been carrying the majority of the load, even though USC’s defense has been improving. They’re particularly weak against the run where they rank 126^th. They’re better against the pass where they rank in the top 20, at 19^th. They mostly run a bend-but-don’t-break style of defense as they lack being able to create disruption. Against the Ducks they need to get into the backfield and create some sort, any sort of disruption. Oregon, under the guidance of HC Dan Lanning has been thriving, their offense with QB Dante Moore is pretty explosive as they tank in the top 10 and they average 7.36 yard per play. They have the number 2 rushing attack and they rank 3^rd in the nation in passing. Very seldom do they face a third and long, and they move the chains as they chew up the field. This offense as only been stumped once and that was in a rain-soaked game against Indiana where honestly, they were in that game all the up to the end. The biggest change that HC Lanning has brought is the improvement of the Duck defense. For years the Ducks have been known for their Quack Attack and having a weak D-side of the ball. Now they rank 3^rd in the nation holding opponents to just 3.98 yards per play. They make their bread and butter by suffocating opponents rushing attack and their pass defense is equally dominant allowing just a 50.6% success rate. If Oregon wants to make the playoffs, they can’t under any circumstances lose this game, or any others for that matter. Oregon has been playing with their backs against the wall since they lost to the Hoosiers and there’s no reason to think they’ll let up against USC. USC has to have this game if they lose they can kiss the playoffs goodbye but even with that motivation its not going to help, Oregon is just too loaded and too good for USC to handle.

 Nebraska vs Penn State- The Nittany Lions come into this game after stopping a six-game losing streak. During that time, they struggled to stop anyone but in their last two games they were able to put a lot of pressure on opposing quarterbacks, they got a total of eight sacks against Indiana and Michigan State. Their pass rush has improved because they have opened up their blitzing passages to come from all positions and angles. They call it their “prowler” package and they’re living or dying on it’s success. Grant it most of this season PSU has been a dumpster fire, nothing and I mean nothing has gone right for the blue and white, so much so that they fired HC Franklin and oddly enough the coach they have their sights on is HC Rhue who of course is the Nebraska coach. Part of the downfall of the Nittany Lions has been losing their starting QB Drew Allar for the season and their back up Kaytron Allen not being able to fill in his shoes. Which means they’ve relied almost solely on their rushing attack, which is usually good, but not when a team is one dimensional. Nebraska has had a successful season as they sit at 7-3. They have shown strength on the road winning three out of four games and they sit in the middle of the Big Ten standing. QB Dylan Raiola has been a key player with just over 2,000 yards passing with 18 touchdowns, unfortunately, he too is out for the rest of the season with a leg injury. RB Emmett Johnson is their leading rusher, and he will have to be their work horse against this second coming of a Penn State defense. Neither one of these teams is going to make the playoffs fair enough but Nebraska is playing for a good spot in the postseason and Penn State is playing for nothing but pride. Which is why it’s confusing that PSU enters this game as the favorite, it is being played at State College, but the Huskers have had two weeks to prepare. Nebraska has not had a lot of respect this season, but they are a scrappy bunch who refuse to give up. Look for this game to be close and the fight is going to go well into the fourth quarter, but Nebraska is going to be ready for whatever the Nittany Lions have to throw at them. The Cornhuskers are the pick to win.

tennessee vs Florida – Florida has a bad record, not doubt, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t been battling it out between the sidelines. On top of that the injury bug has bit this team pretty hard. They seem to be able to play a good solid three quarters but in the fourth the game just slips away. They have a good win under their belt by beating Texas, but that’s been the highlight of their season. Now the Gators don’t have much to play for, except pride and this is a big rival game. Florida and tennessee do hate each other and who can blame the Gators. What Florida will be counting on is for the Vols to underestimate them and it just might work. Florida leads the all-time series 32-22 and has won 10 straight home games. Even with Florida not having a good season doesn’t mean the fan base isn’t behind them as this game is already sold out. tennessee, bless their hearts, is not going to make a return trip to the playoffs, but they do sit at 7-3 and they have had some very tough losses, with some close victories over Mississippi State and Arkansas before getting beaten by Alabama. tenn is coming off a dominate victory over a bad New Mexico State team so its not like the Vols will be coming in with a lot of confidence. What tennessee likes to do is play very fast and they do put points on the board, but the question is will this Florida team be able to put up a defense that can stop the vols attack? and just by looking at the numbers, they rank 72^nd in the nation and against the pass they rank 93^rd, the answer would be no. However, this is a rival game, and UF isn’t going to just roll over and die. This team has more grit in them than most people notice, don’t look for tenn to run away with this game as some of the commentators are predicting. tennessee has a terrible time when they play against lower levels of competition such as when they played Arkansas and Mississippi State. Florida has literally nothing lose, and tennessee doesn’t really gain anything by winning, which is why the vols are not going to take as serious as the Gators will and this is why Florida is going to pull the upset.

Short Smokes  

Ohio State will roll all over Rutgers

A&M will crush Samford

Missouri better beat Oklahoma

Miami struggles against Virginia Tech but they still win

Minnesota will beat Northwestern but not by much

Louisville and SMU will be a great game, Cards win

Wake Forest dominates Delaware

Kansas is going to fall against Iowa State

Army marches all over Tulsa

Georgia will have a good scrimmage against Charlotte

Washington State is going to have a terrible time against James Madison

Baylor will growl loud against Arizona but the Wildcats still win

Alabama needs a good scrimmage against Eastern Illinois

It would be great if Auburn fell against Mercer but they won’t

Syracuse will not get rolled over by Notre Dame but they won’t beat the Irish

Vandy wins against Kentucky

Texas Bar-B-Q’s Arkansas

Michigan State and Iowa will be a close game, Hawkeyes win

Duke trips up North Carolina

Tulane washes all over Temple

Kansas State can give Utah a heck of a game, and they could pull the upset, but they won’t

Michigan cruises past Maryland

Houston will not lose to TCU

South Carolina could easily fall to Coastal Carolina

Clemson shouldn’t have many problems with Furman but wouldn’t it be great if they did

Pitt isn’t going to give Georgia Tech too many problems

Boise State rams Colorado State

Illinois just might lose to Wisconsin

Stanford is going to have a terrible time with the hippies of Cal

LSU might lose to Western Kentucky, the Tigers are a complete mess right now

BYU claws Cincinnati

Arizona State will stamped over Colorado

Washington tears up UCLA in the late game

In the other late game Utah State gets put in the doghouse by Fresno State