Week 6 is going to be intense. Penn State is on a three game winning streak and the undefeated Northwestern Wildcats come to town in what could very well be described as PSU's bowl game. In the Northwest, UW takes its upset-minded show on the road to Eugene, where Oregon knows its one game away from kissing its title hopes goodbye. West Virginia goes on the road to Austin, where Texas' defense is looking for its backbone after a shootout victory last week over Oklahoma State. Down south, Georgia heads up the road to Columbia for its date with the Old Ballcoach and a chance to remain in the national title discussion. Week 6 makes Kyle feel:
Northwestern @ Penn State -3
Northwestern "QB" Kain Colter is one of football's most dangerous men right now. He actually throws very little, but completes his passes for 8-plus yards, averages 6-plus yards passing and lines up at reciever—where he's good for 14-plus yards per catch. Combine him with actual strong arm QB Trevor Siemian and his 69 percent completion average and you have an electric duo in the undefeated Wildcat offense. Penn State is equally dangerous, though, for different reasons. The 3-2 Nittany Lions swing for the fences—with a depleted roster its their best strategy. They are among the league leaders in going for it on fourth down and fourth down conversions, and their pass game accounts for 60-plus percent of their first downs and almost twice the yardage as they've gained on the ground. Northwestern is weak defensively against the pass—giving up 11.6 yards per catch—and on homecoming, I'd look for the Lions to air it out plenty against NW. But, the Wildcats are good on third down (converting 54 percent of the time), much better than PSU, and I can see them winning time of possession if PSU's pass game falters.
Miami vs. Notre Dame -13.5 (Chicago)
This is an Admiral Ackbar game for the Irish if I've ever seen one. Miami, by all rights, should not be 3-1 and in the driver's seat in the ACC. The Canes blow on defense, have a perplexingly unbalanced offense weighted toward passing and are getting stomped out by nearly 10 MINUTES PER GAME in time of possession. The only thing floating this goddamn roster is QB Stephen Morris and his nine passing touchdowns and 320-plus yards per game passing. Therein lies the rub for the Irish—for this defense's many strengths and accomplishments, they have not been tested against a good passing team. Manti Te'o and co are adept at putting pressure on opposing passers and minimizing the time their DBs are forced to cover opposing receivers. If Morris can use his legs to extend that time frame we could see the ND corners tested, something that hasn't really happened yet. The Irish have 14 sacks, though, in their undefeated start. And, they're winning time of possession by a little more than two minutes and RBs Cierre Wood and George Aktinson are grabbing big yards in limited carries while Theo Riddick remains the unit's workhorse.
Nebraska @ Ohio State -3
Nebraska's sole loss came on the road this season, while the undefeated Buckeyes have been shaky but are getting the job done. A big reason for that is the work of their experienced offensive line, which is getting the Buckeye backs a huge push to work with—and they're taking advantage of it to the tune of 5.1 yards per rush. You put up those kind of numbers and you're going to own the line of scrimmage—something Nebraska's D isn't giving up without a fight, holding opponents to less than 3.5 yards per carry. I think this might come down to T. Magic—Nebraska QB Taylor Martinez—and his big-play ability. He's passing for nearly 13 yards per completion—good enough to negate any time of possession advantage gained by the Buckeyes' Braxton Miller, who is still a suspect passer.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment