Welcome to Week 10 of College Football and for the Huskers, it's BROKEN CHAIR WEEK! Nebraska squares off against Minnesota for the best trophy in all of sports, the $5 Bits of Broken Chair Trophy. The Twitter feud-made trophy has not found its home in Lincoln since 2018. This week has a MASSIVE slate of big games, and some very sneaky games you'll want to keep an eye on. We're into November football, so upsets will occur. Enjoy the GAMEDAY predications and GO BIG RED!
Week 9 Record: 10 - 3
Overall Record: 94 - 38
Texas Tech at #7 TCU
The Horned Frogs are on the outside looking in after the first CFB Rankings, but can continue their unblemished season with a win at home over Texas Tech. A statement win would help TCU tremendously, but despite the Red Raiders 4-4 record, they are very talented on offense and will be upset minded in this one. Last week TTU could not get things moving as they fell to Baylor 45-17. They have not been consistent this season and the inconsistency will cost them against TCU. No matter what, the Frogs find a way to win. They'll be in a bit of a battle, but expect to see some muscle in this game. TCU wins 38-23.
#18 Oklahoma State at Kansas
The Pokes were stunned last week by K-State as they lost 48-0, and now they travel back to the Sunflower State to take on the Jayhawks. Kansas has fallen off the radar the last few weeks suffering 3 straight losses after their hot start to 2022. They will be looking to right the ship against the Pokes, but a bounce back game might not be the best place to start. Oklahoma State will look to demolish KU as they try to fight back into the Big XII Title game mix. Look for Oklahoma State to bounce back in this one with a 37-33 victory.
#24 Texas at #13 K-State
Despite the constant beatdowns the Wildcats are serving up to their Big XII foes, Texas is still favored in this one. Star QB Quinn Ewers is back and leading this offense well, but K-State's defense is the 11th ranked unit in scoring defense for the nation. They've shut out both Oklahoma and Oklahoma State this year. The Longhorns are coming off of a BYE week which is helpful, but Kansas State (the underdog) wins this game with a solid performance. Adrian Martinez is a game time decision, but backup QB Will Howard has been sensational in replacement, so no matter who plays, the Wildcats beat the Longhorns 34-21.
#4 Clemson at Notre Dame
The Irish proved me wrong by knocking off Syracuse, but now the #4 ranked Tigers come to South Bend. Both teams will look to ground and pound with their running backs in this one. My X-factor to watch is the turnover game on defense. Notre Dame has just 5 takeaways all year while Clemson's defense has 12. If the Tigers start ripping the ball out, it could be along night for Notre Dame. My uncle can call me a hater all he wants, but I haven't seen enough to say the Irish are winning. Clemson holds off Notre. Tigers win this one 28-20.
#1 Tennessee at #3 Georgia
There's a battle of Titans set between the hedges this afternoon, for just the 3rd time in College Football history we have a #1 versus #1 matchup. The Vols and the Dawgs square off for the biggest game of the season and the inside track to both the SEC Championship and the College Football Playoffs. Georgia has not had many challenges outside of their near stumble at Missouri earlier this year, so there's a lot of questions on how good they really are. They've dominated lesser competition all year long but due to that fact they were given a #3 ranking in the CFB Playoffs compared to their #1 AP ranking. They have one of the best athletes in the country playing Tight End, Brock Bowers. The appropriately named Sophomore leads the Bulldogs in receiving with 547 yards and 3 TDs. He's a very difficult force to bring down, and is not one to miss a block in the ground game. Tennessee will need to know where he's at on the field at all times. As for the Volunteers, they walk into Athens with the #1 offense in the nation. The QB-WR duo of Hendon Hooker and Jaylin Hyatt have accounted for 14 TDs together and look to blow the top off this Georgia defense. There's a lot of hype around UT and they will need to manage that target on their back. This feels like a game where Georgia crushes the glass slipper of this year's Cinderella, but Tennessee has shown they are built different this year. I'm taking the Vols in a crazy upset, I hope this one is as good as it looks. Vols 31, Dawgs 27. Good ole ROCKY TOP!
#6 Alabama at #10 LSU
Normally the biggest game of a weekend like this, but the classic SEC West Rivalry between Bama and LSU takes a bit of a back seat today. They are still the prime time game tonight and the lights in Death Valley always make the game interesting. Bama & LSU have a lot to fight for still as the Tide look to recover from their loss on Rocky Top a few weeks ago and the Tigers still have a shot to get to the SEC Championship in Brian Kelley's first year. Junior QB Jayden Daniels has been playing very well this season, throwing for 12 TDs and just 1 pick. He also leads LSU in rushing this year with 524 yards. The Tigers' offense hasn't been anything special, but they've been consistent and one of the best in the nation on converting 3rd downs with 49% conversion rate. The Tide's offense has woken up the second half of this season and Heisman winner Bryce Young is looking to be in top form with a 19 TD to 3 INT ratio. Both defenses in this one have their work cut out for them, but I'll give the nod to Alabama in this one. Brian Kelley has turned this first year around since the opening week loss, but beating Bama your first year in the conference doesn't happen. Roll Tide as they win in Death Valley 34-20.
#12 UCLA at Arizona State
We've got two fantastic PAC-12 After Dark games, and we'll start with UCLA on the road in the desert. The Sun Devils have had an up and down season since firing Herm Edwards, but they're always a pick for an upset. UCLA has skirted that loss a few times so they need to be sharp tonight. Keeping pace in the very crowded PAC-12 is their only shot at potentially avenging that loss to Oregon in the conference championship. I think DTR has a big night and lights up the Sun Devil defense down in the desert. Bruins win 37-20.
Cal at #9 USC
Our other late night upset potential out west takes place in LA as the Golden Bears take on the Trojans. USC is also looking to square off against (most likely) the Ducks in the PAC-12 Championship, so they can't afford any more slip ups. Caleb Williams has Heisman caliber numbers with nearly 2,400 pass yards with 24 TDs and just 1 pick. He should light up the Golden Bear defense, but look for Jack Plumber to give some headaches to USC. The Trojans rank 94th in pass defense, so Cal has an opportunity to keep pace in this game. USC pulls away in the second half though and looks good with a 45-21 victory.
Minnesota at Nebraska (Battle for the $5 Bits of Broken Chair Trophy)
The Huskers host the Golden Gophers as they battle for the $5 Bits of Broken Chair Trophy! Nebraska is in dire need of a moral boost after a very poor offensive performance against the Illini last week. The Gophers come in with a solid defense, giving up just 14.4 points per game. The Huskers' offense has been extremely inconsistent this season, and with Casey Thompson being questionable for today, things could get ugly if a ground game is not established. There was no patience with it last week and I think there was a lot more opportunity for Anthony Grant to get yards if they would've tried more on the ground. It's likely that if Thompson can't go the nod will go to Chubba Purdy. I personally think Smothers is a better option due to his ability to run the option, but we'll see what happens. Purdy did not look great in the second half of last week's game. He locked in on receivers, threw across the middle late and had no rhythm. A lot of that can also be attributed to the Husker O-Line, but who every plays QB for the Huskers today needs to take command and make some big plays. Minnesota's defense is vulnerable, especially if the Huskers can get the ball to Trey Palmer. Defensively, Nebraska played very well last week and kept the Huskers alive all game. They will face another heavy dose of run game today with Mohammed Ibrahim and the Gopher O-line. They should handle it fairly well, but will need support from the Husker offense so they're not on the field the whole time. There are plenty of ways the Huskers can win this game, most of them going through giving the ball to Grant and Palmer, but unfortunately this team just does not have it. You could feel it last week watching in the stadium, nothing about the product on the field will really get better this season they way they're playing. As much as I hate to make predictions like this, I think the Gophers walk out with the Broken Chair yet again. Hopefully they prove me wrong, but I've got Minnesota beating Nebraska 24-14. Someone fix this and bring me home a broken chair. GO BIG RED!
Quick Hit Predictions:
#21 Wake Forest at #22 NC State - The Demon Deacons should've dominated last week, but with 6 turnovers, they got dominated. They can't do that against NC State's rugged defense, but I like Sam Hartman to bounce back. Wake Forest wins 34-30 on the road.
Florida at Texas A&M - The Aggies have been so close the last few games but can't get over the hump. Now they've got the Gators coming to Kyle Field and have a shot. Neither team has done very well this season, and I really don't know who to trust. I'll take the home team, but this is not a confident pick for either side. Aggies 27, Gators 21.
#20 Syracuse at Pitt - The Orange let me down last week and Pitt did as well. Not sure who will step up first in this game, but the Panthers were shredded by the pass game last week so I'll give the 'Cuse the nod. Orange 37, Panthers 31.
Iowa at Purdue - The Hawkeyes and Boilermakers meet in West Lafayette for a typical BIG 10 mediocre November football matchup. Both teams have been underwhelming this year, despite Purdue having some big wins in early October. Good defense is always a staple at Iowa, but I've got Purdue hanging on at home. 23-20 Boilermakers win!
Maryland at Wisconsin - I still can't figure out the Badgers this season, but they should be able to handle Maryland at home. Feed Braelon Allen at RB and On Wisconsin as they beat the Terps at home 28-13.
Baylor at Oklahoma - Two teams that were pegged to be atop the Big XII standings are stuck in the middle due to some very rough performances this season. The Bears only have close losses though, so Sic 'em as Baylor wins on the road 38-35.
BYU at Boise State - The Cougars started hot but have disappeared quick. They didn't have a single win in October and I think they start November with a loss too. Broncos win 40-20.
Florida State at Miami - The Seminoles and Hurricanes clash in a classic rivalry that has lost its luster. Miami won last week but didn't score a TD. The Seminoles have been scoring a lot of TDs lately with 32.1 points per game on average. FSU beats Miami 36-28.
Thanks for reading my GAMEDAY Predictions and GO BIG RED! Someone bring me that Broken Chair!
#CFBKnowItAll
Alex Fernando
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