Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Pre Week 6 Polls:
Week 6 Opponents



Week Six looks to be an interesting one as most everyone squares off against conference opponents. For many of them this means facing a ranked opponent as well. Things get started on Thursday with #2 Oregon vs undefeated Arizona.

(Ranks on the left are those of the AP/Coaches Top 25/CBSSPORTS.COM 128 Polls as reported by CBSSports.com. NR = Not Ranked)

1/2/5 Florida State (4-0) The Seminoles will host the Wake Forest Demon Deacons (2-3). Winston and company preform a bit of exorcism.

2/4/2 Oregon (4-0) The Ducks host the Arizona Wildcats (4-0) Thursday night. Look for the Ducks to prevail once more.

3/1/1 Alabama (4-0) The Tide are on the road to face the #11 Ole Miss Rebels (4-0). Could be a close game but history says the Tide will roll over the Rebels.

4/3/3 Oklahoma (4-0) The Sooners are on the road to face the #25 Horned Frogs of TCU (3-0). Sooners by double digits.

5/5/4 Auburn (4-0) The Tigers will host the #15 LSU Tigers (4-1). Harris will start for LSU and they should score. The question is will they score enough to upset Auburn and will the LSU defense come to play. I believe the answer to both is “No.”

6/7/6 Texas A&M (5-0) The Aggies square off against #12 Mississippi State Bulldogs (4-0). And they’re on the road, too. Home or on the road, Hill and the Aggies are on a roll. It will be close, but the Aggies will win.

7/6/8 Baylor (4-0) The Bears take to the road to face the Texas Longhorns (2-2). Remember when Texas was good? Charlie Strong will get them there again…one day, but not this weekend. Bears maul the Longhorns.

8/9/9 UCLA (4-0) The Bruins host the Utah Utes (2-2). UCLA continues to roll.

9/8/7 Notre Dame (4-0) The Irish will host to the #14 Stanford Cardinal (3-1). Notre Dame will swat the Cardinals.

10/10/10 Michigan State (3-1) The Spartans will host the #19 Nebraska Cornhuskers (5-0).  And the final undefeated Big Ten team falls.

11/11/12 Ole Miss (4-0) The Rebels play host to the #3 Crimson Tide of Alabama (4-0). Tide rolls.

12/14/11 Mississippi State (4-0) The Bulldogs are at home against #6 Texas A&M (5-0). Aggies tame the Bulldogs.

13/12/14 Georgia (3-1) The Bulldogs will host the Commodores of Vanderbilt (1-4). Georgia wins big.

14/13/15 Stanford (3-1) The Cardinal head east to face the #9 Irish of Notre Dame (4-0). Irish win.

15/15/16 LSU (4-1) The Tigers are on the road to face the #5 Auburn Tigers (4-0). Auburn wins.

16/20/18 Southern California (3-1) The Trojans host the Arizona State Sun Devils (3-1). USC wins a close one.

17/16/22 Wisconsin (3-1) The Badgers are on the road to play the Northwestern Wildcats (2-2). Wisconsin struggled last week…for a short while. They won’t have a problem this week as they win by three TDs.

18/19/17 Brigham Young (4-0) The Cougars will host the Utah State Aggies (2-2) in a Friday night contest. BYU wins big.

19/17/13 Nebraska (5-0) The Cornhuskers hit the road against the #10 Michigan State Spartans (3-1). Spartans win.

20/18/21 Ohio State (3-1) The Buckeyes head east to face the Maryland Terrapins (4-1). It will be close, but the Buckeyes win by a field goal.

21/23/NR Oklahoma State (3-1) The Cowboys host the Iowa State Cyclones (1-3). Cowboys run roughshod over the Cyclones.

22/21/23 Eastern Carolina (3-1) The Pirates will be hosting the SMU Mustangs (0-4). Pirates break the Mustangs.

23/22/19 Kansas State (3-1) The Wildcats will host the Red Raiders of Texas Tech (2-2). K. State better bring it’s A game. If they don’t make mistakes (a big IF) they should win by 10 or more.

24/NR/24 Missouri (4-1) The Mizzou Tigers have the weekend off.

25/25/20 TCU (3-0) The Horned Frogs host the #4 Oklahoma Sooners (4-0). Sooners will win this one going away.

NR/24/25 Arizona State (3-1) The Sun Devils are on the road to play the #16 USC Trojans (3-1). Trojans will prevail.


My Rutgers Scarlet Knights (4-1) try for their first BIG Ten win this week as they face the Michigan Wolverines (2-3) at home. Michigan is vulnerable and Rutgers should have beaten Penn State. Mistakes cost the Knights that game. Rutgers’ defense has been improving and the special teams are—well,--special. If they don’t turn the ball over when on offense, the Knights will win in front of an enthusiastic home crowd.

Sunday, September 28, 2014

College Football: Week 5 Results



There were a couple of close shaves this week but only one upset: #13 South Carolina got beat by one point by Missouri. That lone upset, combined with the number of teams with the weekend off, should mean there are few changes coming prior to Week Six.

(Ranks on the left are those of the AP/Coaches Top 25/CBSSPORTS.COM 128 Polls as reported by CBSSports.com. NR = Not Ranked)

1/1/4 Florida State (4-0) The Seminoles beat the North Carolina State Wolfpack (4-1), 56-41. North Carolina lead 24-7 after one quarter and 24-21 at the half but Florida State wasn’t about to go away, winning the second half 35-17.  Jacoby Brissett almost outshined Jameis Winston—almost Brissett threw for 359 yards and three TDs and no INTs for the Wolfpack, but he did lose one fumble. Winston threw for 365 yards, two INTs and four TDs including one following that Brissett fumble. Bo Hines and Shadrach Thornton (twice) scored rushing TDs for NC State. Dalvin Cook ran for a TD Karlos Williams rushed for three TDs for FSU

2/4/1 Oregon (4-0) The Ducks had this weekend off.

3/2/3 Alabama (4-0) The Crimson Tide were idle this week.

4/3/2 Oklahoma (4-0) The Sooners were also idle this weekend.

5/5/5 Auburn (4-0) The Tigers trounced the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (2-3), 45-17. Nick Marshall threw for three TDs--two of them to Quan Bray who also returned a punt 76 yards for a TD. Marshall also rushed for 105 yards on 13 carries and Cameron Artis-Payne gained 116 on 22 carries as Auburn dominated the Bulldogs.

6/7/6 Texas A&M (5-0) The Aggies had to come from behind and go into overtime to defeat the Arkansas Razorbacks (3-2), 35-28. A&M trailed by 14 entering the fourth quarter but the defense shut out the Razorbacks and the offense behind Kenny Hill (21 of 41 for 386 yards and 4 TDs) tied the game before winning it in OT. It was in OT that Hill connected with Malcome Kennedy for 25 yards and a TD on the first play and the defense proceeded to shut down Arkansas on four plays.

7/6/7 Baylor (4-0) The Bears beat the Iowa State Cyclones (1-3), 49-28. And it wasn’t as close as it sounds. Bryce Petty threw for 336 yards and a touchdown while running for two more. Shock Linwood scored three TDs rushing. Baylor jumped out to a 35-7 halftime lead and never looked back.

8/8/8 Notre Dame (4-0) The Fighting Irish beat the Syracuse Orange (2-2), 31-15. Everett Golson went 32 of 39 for 362 yards and four TDs. BUT two of those misses were INTs one of which Durell Eskridge returned 29 yards for a Syracuse TD. Notre Dame committed five turnovers or this might have been worse for the Orange.

9/9/9 Michigan State (3-1) The Spartans rode roughshod over the Wyoming Cowboys (3-2), 56-14. Michigan State had six drives in the first half—and scored touchdowns on all six. Jeremy Langford carried the ball 16 times for 137 yards and a TD and Connor Cook tossed two TD passes and ran for a third before taking a seat late in the second quarter.

10/11/11 Ole Miss (4-0) The Rebels beat the Memphis Tigers (2-2), 24-3. It wasn’t pretty as the Ole Miss offense kept shooting itself in the foot. It was 7-3 at the end of three quarters before the offense righted itself. Good thing the defense held Memphis to just 104 yards. Bo Wallace did throw two TD passes but he also tossed two INTs and lost a fumble. Markell Pack fumbled a punt that Memphis recovered as Ole Miss had four turnovers and committed 10 penalties (117 yards) as they stumbled their way to the win.

11/10/10 UCLA (4-0) The Bruins trounced the #15 Arizona State Sun Devils (3-1) on the road Thursday night, 62-27. Mike Bercovici threw for 488 yards and three TDs for the Sun Devils but Brett Hundley threw for 355 yards and four TDs—two of them 80-yard bombs--for the Bruins. UCLA’s Ishmael Adams returned an interception 95 yards for a TD and later returned a kickoff 100 yards for a score.

12/13/15 Georgia (3-1) The Bulldogs held off the Tennessee Volunteers (2-2) 35-32. Todd Gurley rushed for a career-high 208 yards and two touchdowns, including a 51-yarder in the fourth quarter but it was Josh Dawson’s recovery of a fumble in the endzone for a touchdown and a cover of an onsides kick attempt that provided the difference. Justin Worley threw three TD passes and Jalen Hurd rushed for 114 yards and a TD for the Vols.

13/15/12 South Carolina (3-2) The Gamecocks got edged by the Missouri Tigers (4-1), 21-20. The Tigers scored first (Russell Hansbrough 18-yard run) but then South Carolina ripped off 20 unanswered points to lead 20-7 midway through the fourth quarter. Maty Mauk was limited to a 12 of 34 day for just 132 yards and no TDs and Mizzou would have just 2 first downs in the first 23 minutes of the second half but the Tigers would not quit, however. In those last 7 minutes, Hansborough scored twice on one-yard runs to give the Tigers a 21-20 victory.

14/16/13 Mississippi State (4-0) The Bulldogs had this weekend off.

15/12/14 Arizona State (3-1) The Sun Devils got whipped by #11 UCLA (4-0), 62-27. See above for more.

16/14/20 Stanford (3-1) The Cardinal edged the Washington Huskies (4-1), 20-13. A failed fake punt late in the fourth quarter led to a Cardinal TD on a Kevin Hogan 5-yard run. On the other hand, three turnovers by the Cardinal (one INT and two lost fumbles) heled keep the Huskies in the game.

17/18/16 LSU (4-1) The Tigers routed the New Mexico State Aggies (2-3), 63-7. Freshman Brandon Harris made his first start for the Tigers. He had a heck of a day with three TD passes and two TD runs. (In LSU’s loss to Mississippi State last week, Harris entered the game with five minutes to play and the Tigers down 34-10. He led two touchdown drives (and two 2-pt conversions) to make it 34-28.) What he was doing playing in the second half this week when it was 42-7 at the half, is anyone’s guess.

18/22/19 Southern California (3-1) The Trojans beat the Oregon State Beavers (3-1), 35-10. Su’a Cravens returned an interception 31 yards for the first Trojan score in the first quarter. Ryan Murphy returned the ensuing kickoff 97 yards for the Beavers. Unfortunately, the Trojans weren’t done on either offense or defense. They held the Beavers to just one field goal the remainder of the game. Meanwhile, Cody Kessler would go on to throw two TD passes, one of them a 48-yard hail Mary to Darreus Rogers to end the first half. Justin Davis caught the other and also ran for one. Javorius Allen rushed 20 times for 115 yards and a USC touchdown.  The refs must have had to soak their arms afterward. There were 27 accepted penalties in the game: 13 against Oregon State for 108 yards and 14 against USC for 124 yards.

19/17/22 Wisconsin (3-1) The Badgers beat the surprisingly stubborn South Florida Bulls (2-3), 27-10. It was 3-3 at the half but the Badgers came out and scored on their first two drives in the second half. Melvin Gordon scored both those TDs and finished the day with 181 yards on 32 carries. Still, the Bulls would not fold scoring a TD of their own on a 26 yard run by Rodney Adams making it 17-10 at the end of three quarters. But the Wisconsin’s defense shut the door and the offense tacked on 10 more points.

20/21/18 Brigham Young (4-0) The Cougars had the weekend off.

21/19/17 Nebraska (5-0) The Cornhuskers ran over the Fighting Illini of Illinois (3-2), 45-14. Ameer Abdullah ran for 208 yards—196 of them in the first half and three TDs. Nebraska rushed 70 times for 458 yards, 190 in the first quarter as Abdullah surpassed the 100-yard mark with less than 10 minutes gone in the game.

22/20/21 Ohio State (3-1) The Buckeyes roughed up the Cincinnati Bearcats (2-1), 50-28. Cincy scored first but then Ohio State reeled off 30 unanswered points and never looked back. J.T. Barrett completed 26 of 36 for 330 yards and four TDs for the Buckeyes. Gunner Kiel also tossed four TD passes including a 60-yarder to Chris Moore to open the scoring and an 83-yarder and 78-yarder both to the same Chris Moore who had three catches for three TDs and 221 yards. Not a bad day—except for the “L” the Bearcats were given by the Buckeyes.

23/24/25 East Carolina (3-1) The Pirates enjoyed a bit of shore leave this weekend.

24/NR/NR Oklahoma State (3-1) The Cowboys beat the Texas Tech Red Raiders (2-2) 45-35 on Thursday night. Daxx Garman threw for 370 yards and four TDs and ran for a fifth for the Cowboys, Davis Webb threw for 374 yards and four touchdowns for the Red Raiders. (Each of them also threw two INTs.) Entertaining? Hell yeah!

25/25/23 Kansas State (3-1) The Wildcats routed the Texas-El Paso Miners (2-2), 58-28—and it wasn’t that close. Charles Jones ran for three TDs and Tyler Lockett returned a punt 58 yards for another score—in the first half. It was 45-0 in the third quarter before the Miners got on the board.

NR/23/NR Duke (4-1) The Blue Devils got beat by the Miami Hurricanes (3-2), 22-10. Miami had its own Duke, Duke Johnson who ran for 155 yards and a TD. Brad Kaaya tossed two TD passes for the ‘Canes who snapped Duke’s 12-game regular season winning streak. It was only the second time in the last 36 games that Duke was held to 10 points or less. (Florida State is the other team to accomplish that feat.)

NR/NR/24 Clemson (2-2) The Tigers beat the University of North Carolina Tar Heels (2-2), 50-35. Freshman Deshaun Watson made his first start under center for the Tigers. All he did was toss six TD passes as he went 27 of 36 for 435 yards. There is room for improvement; he threw one interception.

My Rutgers Scarlet Knights (4-1) trounced the Tulane Green Wave (1-4), 31-6. Gary Nova threw four TD passes setting anew Rutgers’ record of 61 for his career (38 games) more than Mike Teel’s 59. Three of those went to Nova’s high school teammate Leonte Carroo. The fourth was a 93-yarder to Andrew Turzilli. Tulane’s only score came on an 86-yard run by Sherman Badie. Desmond Peoples rushed for 83 yards on 21 carries. He also had two catches for 50 yards. Justin Goodwin added 82 yards rushing on 12 carries as Rutgers played their first game without Paul James. Defense contributed 4 sacks giving them 21 for the season.

Monday, September 22, 2014

Pre Week 5 Polls:
Week 5 Opponents



Week Five….already? Some movement in the polls this week. Not in the top seven but not far below that. LSU drops from #8 to #17 while Mississippi State debuts at #14 after the Bulldogs decisively beat LSU last week. Other changes occurred because of that one game.

Once more there are a number of teams with the weekend off, but that won’t mean there’s no changes coming. Several PAC-12 games pit teams of comparable abilities including #11 UCLA vs #15 Arizona State, and those games could shack the rankings.

(Ranks on the left are those of the AP/Coaches Top 25/CBSSPORTS.COM 128 Polls as reported by CBSSports.com. NR = Not Ranked)

1/1/4 Florida State (3-0) The Seminoles will head north to face the North Carolina State Wolfpack (4-0). FSU will win…even on the road.

2/4/1 Oregon (4-0) The Ducks have this weekend off.

3/2/3 Alabama (4-0) The Crimson Tide will be idle this week.

4/3/2 Oklahoma (4-0) The Sooners are also idle this weekend.

5/5/5 Auburn (3-0) The Tigers host the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (2-2). Auburn wins.

6/7/6 Texas A&M (4-0) The Aggies play the Arkansas Razorbacks (3-1) in a “neutral” site near Dallas. Aggies will do fine on defense and the offense will continue to roll.

7/6/7 Baylor (3-0) The Bears are on the road to face the Iowa State Cyclones (1-2). Bears will add to the Cyclones woes.

8/8/8 Notre Dame (3-0) The Fighting Irish will play the Syracuse Orange (2-1) in MetLife Stadium in Rutherford, NJ. The Orange usually play the Irish tough. Won’t be enough this time. (Two teams poaching in Rutgers backyard. Bet the Syracuse students are real pleased with this “home” game 200+ miles from home.)

9/9/9 Michigan State (2-1) The Spartans host the Wyoming Cowboys (3-1). Michigan State by a bundle.

10/11/11 Ole Miss (3-0) The Rebels will host the Memphis Tigers (2-1). Give a Rebel yell.

11/10/10 UCLA (3-0) The Bruins hit the road to face the #15 Arizona State Sun Devils (3-0). Good tight game. Pick ‘em.

12/13/15 Georgia (2-1) The Bulldogs host the Tennessee Volunteers (2-1). Bulldogs win.

13/15/12 South Carolina (3-1) The Gamecocks host the Missouri Tigers (3-1). Mizzou lost one they shouldn’t have to Indiana last week. They could rebound against the Gamecocks.

14/16/13 Mississippi State (4-0) The Bulldogs have this weekend off.

15/12/14 Arizona State (3-0) The Sun Devils will host #11 UCLA (3-0). Pick ‘em.

16/14/20 Stanford (2-1) The Cardinal head north to face the Washington Huskies (4-0). Huskies at home will keep this a tight game. They might even prevail.

17/18/16 LSU (3-1) The Tigers host the New Mexico State Aggies (2-2). Tiger, tiger shining bright. After being embarrassed at home last week, look for the Bounce!

18/22/19 Southern California (2-1) The Trojans host the Oregon State Beavers (3-0). Another of the PAC-12 games that will be pick ‘em.

19/17/22 Wisconsin (2-1) The Badgers host the South Florida Bulls (2-2). Bulls break their legs in Badger holes. Wisconsin by a bunch.

20/21/18 Brigham Young (4-0) The Cougars will have the weekend off.

21/19/17 Nebraska (4-0) The Cornhuskers will host the Fighting Illini of Illinois (3-1). Huskers win.

22/20/21 Ohio State (2-1) The Buckeyes will host the Cincinnati Bearcats (2-0). Buckeyes win the title for best team in Ohio.

23/24/25 East Carolina (3-1) The Pirates have shore leave this weekend.

24/NR/NR Oklahoma State (2-1) The Cowboys host Texas Tech Red Raiders (2-1) on Thursday night. Good game to start the weekend. I’d say pick ‘em, but my gut says Cowboys.

25/25/23 Kansas State (2-1) The Wildcats host the Texas-El Paso Miners (2-1). Wildcats aren’t feeling so giving this week.

NR/23/NR Duke (4-0) The Blue Devils head south to face the Miami Hurricanes (2-2). Devils win a close one.

NR/NR/24 Clemson (1-2) The Tigers host the University of North Carolina Tar Heels (2-1). Clemson wins.

My Rutgers Scarlet Knights lost junior running back Paul James for the second consecutive year due to a leg injury. Last year it was a broken leg. This year it’s a torn ACL. Last year he had 850+ yards in four + games and was leading the nation in rushing yards. This year he was averaging 5.7+ yards per carry and had 363 yards in a little over three games. Hopefully, Rutgers will have the depth to absorb that huge loss. As if anticipating James’ injury, they had moved Justin Goodwin back to running back after he had switched to defensive corner. Along with Desmon Peoples there’s a chance the slack will be picked up. (Goodwin and Peoples rushed for 186 yards against Navy AFTER James had 96 yards in the first half.)

This week, Rutgers (3-1) hosts the Tulane Green Wave (1-3). Look for the Knights to win this one as they tune up for the remainder of their BIG Ten schedule.