After trudging through weeks of an admittedly embarassing schedule Ohio State finally gets some decent competition in the form of the Wisconsin Badgers. The OSU-Wisc rivarly has been one of the more interesting ones in the Big 10 recently.
Wisconsin should probably be undefeated right now but thanks to an extremely wonky end of the game against Arizona State they have a loss.
Wisconsin will look to run the ball behind their breakout star running back Melvin Gordon who currently leads the nation in rushing. However Ohio State does have a very good rushing defense, only allowing 79 yards per game.
Another very interesting aspect of the game is how the Ohio State quarterback situation will be. Kenny Guiton is now listed as "co-starter" alongside Braxton Miller. How their playing time will be rationed out could go a long way towards sorting the whole thing out. Honestly I wouldn't be surprised if at some point this season Guiton was made the full time starter.
Ohio State is favored by 7 but I think they will get a huge boost from the eager fans looking to finally see some decent competition. Wisconsin may hang around for a while in the first half but I think by the time the 4th quarter rolls around the Buckeyes will have put it away.
Wisconsin 17 - Ohio State 24
#21 Ole Miss at #1 Alabama
Ole Miss gets their toughest test of the season when they travel to Tuscaloosa to take on the Crimson Tide. The Rebels are off to a great start this season as they sit at 3-0 including a win over Texas. Meanwhile Alabama is, well, Alabama.
However, one thing we've learned about Alabama is this isn't your grandfather's Alabama defense. funny fact, did you know that right now if you take into consideration total defense that they're ranked at 56th nationally? That's four spots below Southern Alabama. As far as passing and rushing defense it's pretty bad for a team that regularly produces starting NFL players.
We know what we will get from Alabama as far as offense, a lot of efficiency with little to no mistakes.
If Mississippi can get their run game going and not make any mistakes I think they could have a real shot. They bring a competent defense to Tuscaloosa however they will need to shut down AJ McCarron's big throws down the field.
This is probably Mississippi's best chance to take down the tide in a long time.
Alabama is favored by 14 in this game which seems really high to me. I'm not quite ready to call for the upset by I'm not sure if Alabama is 14 points better than Mississippi at this point.
Ole Miss 24 - Alabama 31
#5 Stanford @ Washington State
After losing an ugly game to Auburn Washington State has been rolling including a win over USC. They get their next big test as the Cardinal come to town.
I think it's huge that the Cougars are getting Stanford at home and the betting lines reflect this as the #5 team in the land is only favored by 9.
Mike Leach's magic is at work here as the Cougars have the 16th best passing offense in the nation but (un)surprisingly they are literally almost dead last in rushing offense. Well it is called the "air raid" and not the "ground raid"... lol... :(
So, obviously the key to this game is going to be how well the Cougars can pass the ball. Luckily for them Stanford isn't exactly that great at defensing the pass, they rank middle of the pack.
I'm making this game my upset special of the week. I think the Cougar QB will have a huge game sparked by a raucous home crowd.
Stanford 28 - Washington State 34
Iowa at Minnesota
Although this is by no means a marquis matchup it is a rather interesting game from a Big 10 perspective. Both teams have been having relatively quiet yet surprisingly good seasons. Minnesota has gotten off to a 4-0 start (though it should be mentioned they did the same thing last year before only getting two more wins for the rest of the season). Meanwhile Iowa has three wins including a win over rival Iowa State.
As I said though this is a very good matchup. I didn't look through every game but this could very well be the closest matched game of the week. While most sites have Iowa winning the game the margins are extremely slim, mostly by 1 point and a couple have them up by 2. While still another has Minnesota winning by 1.
I love win teams are really lopsided to one form of defense and Minnesota is just one of the teams. Having a top 15 rushing offense while also having a bottom 10 passing offense. I guess that's what you get from Jerry Kill...
That's partly what makes this game so interesting since Iowa is really good at defending the rush.
Really, these teams are very similar in what they try to do. Iowa has comparable stats in those same departments.
I'm going to have to go with Minnesota on this one. Should I factor in that maybe the Golden Gophers will be playing with extra heart because of the problems their coach has been having? I don't know about that but I do know that the home crowd will definitely be fired up one way or the other.
Iowa 21 - Minnesota 27
#6 LSU @ #9 Georgia
- Fany Pack
Michigan has a bye (sad), but there's actually a bunch of good games this week (glad). This SEC powerhouse matchup might be the best.
LSU's unbeaten and ranked higher, but I think the Bulldogs' schedule has prepared them better for this game. While LSU breezed by UAB and Kent State, Georgia opened its season with back-to-back marquee games, losing to now-third-ranked Clemson in a close one then going on to upset South Carolina.
It's a matchup of great quarterbacks, though, with Aaron Murray going up against the Tigers' Zach Mettenberger. It really seems like this will come down to whether Murray has a good game and whether Georgia can keep up its excellent passing game against one of the best passing defenses in the conference.
It being another home game and with the team's recent momentum, I'm calling this one for Georgia.
Georgia 31 - LSU 24
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