FOUR BIG GAMES TO WATCH
I can not help but think that unless you are in the Top 10 nationally, college football analysts become blind to the big games of the week. Having been around college football all my life, I wonder if instead of looking at the big games nationwide, they consider the Top 10 the elite and the only colleges worthy of their attention. That kind of attitude only insults all the players of the "non-elite"and turns college football into a caste system. That is not a good thing.
So here we go.
#11 MICHIGAN @ #23 MICHIGAN STATE
This yearly rivalry between brother schools is the biggest game in the state. Everyone in Michigan waits for this game. It has been said that when out-of-state students come to these two schools, they are educated on the importance of this game.
This game has a lot riding on it. Not only does the winning school get bragging rights for the next year, it is a Big Ten-Legends Division game that could very well determine its representative in the first Big Ten championship game.
Though technically it's an away game for the Wolverines, this could be classified as a home game for both. It is 64 miles from Ann Arbor to East Lansing. Thousands of Michigan faithful will make the 1 hour trip northeast to Spartanland.
MSU has had some trouble offensively. Though their apg is 28 points, they have only played three FBS schools. They scored 45 against Central Michigan, but only a combined 23 points against Notre Dame and Ohio State. Both of those games, however, were on the road. East Lansing will be rockin' this week to fire up the Spartans.
Michigan's seniors have never beaten MSU. College football has many philosophies within it. One major measure of success is "how did you do against your in-state rival". That thought alone will motivate the 4 and 5 year seniors to achieve victory.
OHIO STATE @ #16 ILLINOIS
Even though Ohio State is unranked, many analysts are favoring the Buckeyes against the Fighting Illini. You might think that OSU has not lost three conference games in a very long time. We are wrong to believe that. In 2004, the Buckeyes lost their first three conference games to Northwestern, Wisconsin, and Iowa, ending up 4-4 in conference. This, too, is a divisional game. They will not want to fall behind 3 games. That would literally put them out of contention for the Big Ten-Leaders Division title and the championship game. It is also Coach Fickell's last game if they do lose. I can not see why this would be so. He inherited a program with a lot of key players violating NCAA rules, thus losing their services for almost half the season. It is hard to get continuity from any football team when experienced players are missing from the lineup. Coach Fickell should be given some time. He may lose it if the Buckeyes lose.
Many analysts are not buying into the idea yet that Illinois is for real. Four of their first five games have been at home, the only road game being against Indiana which they won handsomely. They are just 1-6 in the last seven meetings with OSU. Their defense is ranked 17th in scoring at 17.8. This is much better than Nebraska's. Rushing defense against FBS schools is 98 ypg. They may want to force OSU to beat them with the pass which is the Buckeye's weakness.
At any rate, Illinois will want to win this game and finally get some respect from the nation.
#19 VIRGINIA TECH @ WAKE FOREST
Three of the Hokies' four games are on the road, heading to North Carolina with a meeting against the 4-1(3-0) Demon Deacons of Wake Forest. They had an impressive comeback win last week against Miami(FL). With 2:46 left in the game, Tech drove 77 yards in 8 plays for the winning score. That was their 1st conference win of the year against their lose to Clemson 23-3.
The Demon Deacons are definitely making some noise this year. It is their first 3-0 start in the ACC ever. However, these victories have been against the bottom three teams in their division-NC State, Boston College, and Florida State, which have a combined record of 6-11, 0-7 in conference play. Virginia Tech will be their first real test of the year.
While Wake has a potent passing game, their running game is suspect. They are 102nd out of 120th in the nation in rushing yards. VA Tech may play heavy on pass defense and make Wake beat them with the run. It may prove to be a long evening if that is the case. They have a good defense (48th nationally), so that may give the Hokies some trouble though it's not as good as the Clemson defense which held them to just 3 points. It will be a defensive struggle.
FLORIDA @ #24 AUBURN
Auburn should be thankful this is a home game. They have lost 2 of their 3 road games thus far, so they will be thankful to be playing at home against a very wounded Florida Gator team. They have the unfortunate fate of being in the same Western Division of the SEC with the likes of LSU, Alabama, and Arkansas, who they lost to 38-14 last week. Another reason for gratitude is that next week they play LSU at Baton Rouge. They need to be disciplined this week though, not looking past Florida, who has been literally beaten up, playing LSU and Alabama in consecutive weeks and being outscored 79-21.
Despite those two shellackings, Florida still has the 20th ranked scoring defense. Their problems deal with the offense where they have lost their quarterback John Brantley with only two freshmen for backup. Another problem deals with leadership. They have very few seniors around and it seems no one wants to be a leader on the team. Coach Muschamp says that it doesn't matter where that leadership comes from. It just needs to be there.
Auburn needs to stay in the hunt in their division. While they only have one loss, they still must play LSU and Alabama. Florida is in a similar situation in the East. While they are currently only one loss behind South Carolina and Georgia, another loss would put a lot of pressure on a team already carrying a heavy load that the SEC always brings to the schedule.
AFTERTHOUGHT--Before you believe analysts opinions and predictions about what is important and what is not, look at the schedules of your and other conferences. You may find that you'll miss out on some great games, like this week's.
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