The Trojans travel east as they take on the Fightin' Illini in the heart of BIG 10 country as this game takes place in Champagne, IL. There wasn't much fight in the Illini last week as they let Indiana roll 63 points on them, and now return home to a fiery USC squad. I had Illinois as my dark horse team to make the playoffs and potentially find their way into the BIG 10 Championship with a favorable schedule. Now I'm wondering if they are capable of any upsets because they looked rough last week. Defensively, they are playing without a number of key players in the secondary, allowing Lincoln Riley and the Trojans to draw up a spicy air raid game plan. Junior QB Jayden Maiava has thrown for 1,223 yards with 9 TDs and 0 interceptions. He's added another 4 TDs on the ground and his favorite target, Makai Lemon has 24 catches for 438 yards and 3 of those passing TDs. Defensively the Trojans are a bit vulnerable, but they're playing at a much higher clip than traditional Lincoln Riley team. This one could get high-scoring if the Illinois offense gets back on track, but with the issues on defense highlighted last week, I've got the Trojans winning 38-28. Fight On!
The Irish travel to Fayetteville as both teams look to turn this season around after rough starts. Neither team has showed much defense, and the Irish are a bit banged up in the secondary. Offensively, these teams do well in putting up points, but their stars do it in different ways. Starting with the Hogs, QB Taylen Green is a dangerous dual-threat QB who is completing a career best 64.3% of his passes this season for 1,191 yards with 12 TDs and 4 picks. He's added another 360 yards on the ground with 2 more TDs as he averages 8.2 yards per carry. Notre Dame has done fairly well stopping the run, but the secondary has ben shredded, currently ranking 132nd in the nation. They will look to counter Arkansas' air attack with a ground and pound strategy from Jeremiyah Love. The Junior has just 3 TDs thus far on the season, but averages 5.5 yards per carry and should have a big day against the Hogs' 87th ranked rush defense. Give me Notre Dame on the road behind a big performance from Love for a 28-24 win.
The Orange beat down Clemson 34-21 last week while the Blue Devils pulled away from NC State in the second half for a 45-33 win. Both teams are very much in the mix for ACC Championship game runs, but there's a lot of season left to decide things. Unfortunately for the 'Cuse, starting QB Steve Angeli who has thrown for over l,300 yards with 10 TDs and 2 picks suffered a torn achilles and will miss the remainder of the season. Sophomore Rickie Collins will take the reigns of the offense and he'll look to out-duel Duke's start QB Darian Mensah. Syracuse's HC Fran Brown is always going to have his team ready, no matter what the circumstances, but without your starting QB this is a tough matchup. I'm very torn as I hate picking against Fran Brown, but I'll take Duke in a close one. Looking for Syracuse to prove me wrong with some extra grit, but Duke 30, Syracuse 27.
The Buckeyes have their first road test of the season and it's a tough one as they travel across the country to Seattle to take on the Huskies of Washington. Jedd Fisch has the dubs with a 3-0 record to start the season and Sophomore QB Demond Williams Jr. has been a big part of that. He's accounted for 998 total yards and 8 TDs through the first few weeks and will look to add to those stats against the viscous Buckeye defense. Ohio State ranks 10th in total defense, but the Huskies aren't far behind at 23rd. The Buckeyes have a young QB of their own in Julian Sayin, facing his first road test. Luckily he's got a fantastic set of weapons to rely on with Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate on the outside and 3 different RBs rotating through the backfield. I think the Buckeyes will prevail with their talent, especially on defense, but enjoy watching Demond Williams Jr. for the Huskies because they will be dangerous in the conference this year. Ohio State 30, Washington 20.
There's a little extra spice to this rivalry as Landry Kiffin, daughter of Ole Miss HC Lane Kiffin hard launched her relationship with LSU Linebacker Whit Weeks with a photo on social media, prompting her dad to comment "bet the over". Similar to Dan Lanning and Curt Cignetti, don't think for a minute that Lane Kiffin won't run up the score if he gets the chance. That won't be easy with LSU's 9th ranked scoring defense, but with Trinidad Chambliss at QB, the Rebels have a little extra spice. In his two games against Arkansas and Tulane, he's completed 67.9 % of his passes for 660 yards with 3 TDs and another 174 and 2 TDs on the ground. LSU hasn't faced a QB with this much spunk on the season, and if their offense can't get into gear, this defense will get tired trying to chase down Chambliss and the Rebels. For the Tigers' offense, the run game has been very slow going as they rank 112th in the nation. QB Garrett Nussmeier is used to shouldering the load as LSU has attempted the 15th most passes this season through just 4 games. It should be a fun one down in the grove, but with the extra incentives I've got Ole Miss with the big win at home. Rebels beat the Tigers 36-31.
Jackson Arnold and the Tigers fell short in Norman last week, but the passing game has finally started to open up. Keon Coleman and Eric Singleton Jr. combined for 148 yards and a TD between 12 catches and were getting great separation from the OU secondary. They will look to build on that in a very tough road environment for the second straight week as they travel to College Station to take on the Aggies. A&M had the impressive win against Notre Dame, but I feel like a lot of the CFB wold hasn't thought much about the Aggies. QB Marcel Reed has shown great improvement in his second year as the starter and his dual-threat ability could be difficult for Auburn to contain as they struggled with John Mateer running around them last week. Upset watch has potential here, but I expect A&M to make more of a statement to get noticed. Mike Elko will always have a defensive game plan ready and I think Jackson Arnold will be under heat again in the pocket. The Auburn Oline struggled to protect him last week and that will lead to more point opportunities for A&M with short fields and turnovers. Gig 'Em Aggies as they win at home 38-17.
The Hoosiers quickly and emphatically proved me wrong last week as they STOMPED my BIG 10 dark horse in Illinois. Curt Cignetti is not a man you should question I've learned when you think his teams have had their time in the spotlight. They now travel on the road to Iowa City to take on the Hawkeyes. It's always a tricky place to play in the BIG 10 as most every team that goes there finds themselves playing very far from their normal tendencies. Iowa's defense is always great at forcing turnovers and teams playing them always seem to make mistakes in the worst moments. Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza has been sensational though, throwing 14 TDs and just 10 INCOMPLETIONS over the last 3 weeks. The Hoosiers seem primed to make statements week in and week out, so they are going to stomp Iowa and most everyone else on their way toward another playoff run. Hoosiers over the Hawkeyes 38-14.
A big upset alert game is set in Starkville as the Bulldogs host the 15th ranked Vols. Tennessee has a high powered offense behind QB Joey Aguilar who has thrown for 1,124 yards with 12 TDs and 3 picks. He'll be up against the 13th best pass defense in the nation with Mississippi State and they've already got 5 picks on the season. The Vols have put up at least 41 points in every game, but their own defense has been gashed at times, giving up 21 plays of 20+ yards already this season. For the Bulldogs, they come in unbeaten after winning just 2 games a year ago and not a single one in the SEC. This would be a big win for HC Jeff Lebby, and while I do believe his team is on the rise, I don't think Tennessee is overlooking the Bulldogs. Vols win on the road with an impressive outing from Aguilar 34-21.
The Wildcats come into Ames, Iowa looking to upset the 14th ranked Cyclones as two undefeated teams in the Big XII clash. As anticipated, this conference has been very unpredictable in the early parts of this season, so don't sleep on Arizona under Brent Brennan. Defensively, they rank 2nd in the nation with a +6 turnover margin, and that's always a good stat to take on the road. Iowa State will lean on Senior QB Rocco Becht and his plethora of receivers to handle this matchup. Becht has 4 different players with over 100 receiving yards on the season as he spreads it very well throughout his team. The run game has been key to balance their offense and in addition to the 2 rushing TDs from Becht, RBs Carson Hansen and Abu Sama III both average nearly 5 yards per carry. If Iowa State can get the run game moving early, Arizona could struggle as they have not been tested by a dynamic offense yet this season. Be sure to watch QB Noah Fafita for the Wildcats though, as he's a playmaker and will keep them in this game. I'll take Iowa State in the night game atmosphere at home, but Wildcats hang for a while before falling 31-21.
An SEC heavyweight matchup in between the hedges is set to take place as Georgia takes on Alabama in Athens. The Tide are in need of a statement win after their opening weekend loss to Florida State, especially after the 'Noles were upset in double overtime last night. They've balanced their offense much more since their opening week, and should give Georgia some headaches to deal with defensively. We saw Tennessee put up 41 points on the Dawgs a couple of weeks ago and if they can get a good rhythm on the ground early, those chains will stay short and manageable. For Georgia, they will look to establish a run game as well to keep pressure off Gunnar Stockton. The Tide's defense is very aggressive and if you give them opportunities to put pressure, bad things will happen. Stockton does have the dual-threat ability, but I expect Bama to have a spy ready. These games are always full of highlights, so be sure to enjoy it as the Tide Roll to a 33-28 victory.
The biggest game of the night is set in Happy Valley with a legendary White Out between Penn State and Oregon. These two teams met in the BIG 10 Championship last season as the Ducks held off the Nittany Lions for a 45-37 victory. The Ducks are a high-powered, fast-paced offense that spreads defenses all across the field. Penn State has a very athletic defense, but they want to get pressure and keep Oregon in long chain situations for this game. Offensively, Penn State has upgraded their receivers to help Drew Allar, but the true key to the game is the rushing attack. The Nittany Lions have two fantastic RBs with Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen, who both had over 100 yards in that BIG 10 Championship last year. Oregon hasn't been tested with their rush defense yet this year, but it's hard to pick against the Ducks. They look complete, they look fast, and they won the BIG 10 in their first season. I've got them as my BIG 10 favorite again, and I think they show why tonight with a big win on the road. This should be a fantastic game to watch, and I've got the Ducks over the Nittany Lions 40-33.
