Football Future-see 2012: Week Five

Record

Week 1…..8-1

Week 2…..5-0

Week 3…..2-3

Week 4…..5-0

Week 5…..4-1

Overall..…24-5

Review/Preview:
Let’s see, 8-1, 5-0, 2-3, 5-0…if my pattern holds then I’m going to fail miserably at my picks this week. Things went well last week, as evidenced by a 5-0 record. Apparently a lot of people were shocked that Kansas State beat Oklahoma, but I called that one and I feel good about it. This week there are two Top 25 match-ups on our slate, as well as the obligatory UGA pick. We have two SEC conference games, two Big Ten games, and a Big XII match-up. Don’t worry PAC-12, we still know you’re there. But we are deliberately ignoring the ACC this week.

The Games:

14 Ohio State at 20 Michigan State .....INCORRECT
Quick, name the teams in the Big Ten Leaders division. If you are like me and trying to remember things off the top of your head, you might’ve thought that Michigan State and Ohio State were in the same division. But the Big Ten eschewed geographic divisions for the sake of naming themselves Leaders and Legends (because when I think about the legends of football, I think Northwestern and Minnesota). The Buckeyes have a solid QB threat in Braxton Miller. Head coach Urban Meyer has Ohio State believing that they can play with any team in the country. But they’re at Michigan State, and Sparty is not happy. The 20-3 loss to Notre Dame still smarts, and a 23-7 victory over Eastern Michigan did not salve the wounds. Look for MSU to come out strong. Ohio State hangs with them, but I think Sparty gets the win.
FINAL SCORE: Michigan State 28, Ohio State 26

Arkansas at Texas A&M .....CORRECT

Does the freefall continue for Arkansas? The Razorbacks haven’t so much fallen from grace as face-planted on asphalt from it. John L. Smith is becoming a laughingstock for his weekly pressers, and Tyler Wilson is almost a non-factor in games. Losing to Alabama is understandable. Losing to Rutgers is questionable. Losing to Louisiana-Monroe is inexcusable. Losing those three games by a combined score of 121-57 is not even recognizable as SEC football, especially for a team with the expectations Arkansas carried in the preseason. On the other side of the ball, Texas A&M came off the loss to Florida as a better team, having outscored their last two opponents by 101 points. Arkansas may make this one respectable, but I think A&M picks up their first SEC victory.
FINAL SCORE: Texas A&M 35, Arkansas 28

Tennessee at 5 Georgia .....CORRECT

Georgia is on a roll. Saturday night against Vanderbilt they played like one of the five best teams in the country. In Vanderbilt’s five previous SEC games, the Commodores had been within a touchdown of their opponents. (We know Vandy isn’t a powerhouse, but James Franklin is slowly turning the program around.) Then Georgia beat them 48-3. Georgia’s offense is electric. The Dawgs have score 40+ points in their first four games for the first time in school history and carry an average margin of victory of 31 points. QB Aaron Murray has a plethora of weapons and the freshman running back tandem of Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall is developing into one of the best backfields in the nation. And the defense has been playing shorthanded all season. Until now, that is. If reports are to be believed, this weekend’s match-up with the Vols will see Georgia’s defense back at full strength, as Bacarri Rambo and Alec Ogletree come off suspension. You just thought Georgia’s defense was scary before. Starting Saturday, the Dawgs will have everyone back, and will have everyone in the natural positions. I would not want to be Tennessee right now.
FINAL SCORE: Georgia 41, Tennessee 14

Wisconsin at 22 Nebraska .....CORRECT
Can things get worse for Wisconsin? Of course they can, just ask Arkansas. Wisconsin’s biggest margin of victory is 11 points. Much was expected of Wisconsin and while the Badgers are 3-1, they’ve been far from impressive. The loss to Oregon State is what stands out in most people’s mind. (Oregon State recently beat UCLA, who recently beat Nebraska.) The Cornhuskers, on the other hand, are also 3-1, but they are averaging winning by just over 41 points (Wisconsin’s average margin of victory is 6). QB Taylor Martinez is completing over 70% of his passes with 9 touchdowns to only 1 interception. As a team, Nebraska has rushed for 1270 yards in four games (average of 317.5 per game). Nebraska goes to 4-1 on the season.
FINAL SCORE: Nebraska 27, Wisconsin 14

25 Baylor at 9 West Virginia .....CORRECT

West Virginia should’ve rolled Maryland last week, but only escaped with a ten-point victory. The Mountaineers were supposed to be the offensive class of the Big XII (or the Texas Ten, however you prefer to reference the conference). It looks more and more like Kansas State is the team to beat, though. West Virginia has a chance to make a statement this weekend against Baylor. The Bears are in the Top 25, but not for long. I still think the Big XII comes down to an October 20 meeting in Morgantown between WVU and K-State. Baylor is just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
FINAL SCORE: West Virginia 38, Baylor 20

Let's talk about these football teams in Georgia...

The big three football teams in Georgia are the Atlanta Falcons, the Georgia Bulldogs, and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. I mean no offense to Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Valdosta, or any of the high school teams, but when you mention football in Georgia, you think of one of those first three I mentioned. So let's talk about them.

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets are off to a rather mediocre start. They lost their first game to Virginia Tech, then beat Presbyterian and Virginia by a combined score of 115-23, and then lost in overtime to Miami. The Jackets sit at 2-2 overall and 1-2 in the ACC. Georgia Tech's chances in the ACC look pretty dim, as Virginia Tech and Miami just might be the class of the ACC Coastal Division.

The run-run-run-maybe pass-run offense of Georgia Tech is fairly devastating, but their defense leaves a lot to be desired. The Jackets were up 36-19 on Miami and lost 42-36 in overtime. You can just about guess when the Jackets are going to throw the ball, because back-up QB Vad Lee enters in the game.

If I had to predict the Yellow Jacket's record at season's end, I would say 7-5, with losses to Clemson, BYU, and Georgia.

Speaking of Georgia, these Bulldogs are good. If you watched the game Saturday night against Vanderbilt, you saw a team who believed it was truly one of the five best teams in the country. Vanderbilt recently took South Carolina to the wire, losing 17-13. They've been within a touchdown of their last five SEC opponents. That is, until Saturday. You see, Saturday night in Athens, Vanderbilt ran into a buzzsaw named Georgia.

The Bulldogs are finally getting back to the full complement of players comprising their defense. They were without Bacarri Rambo, Alec Ogletree, Chase Vasser, and Sanders Commings. Commings and Vasser have been back since last week, and Rambo and Ogletree return next week against Tennessee. Georgia on Saturday held a rather talented Vanderbilt team to only 3 points. Though favored by only 14, Georgia went on to a 48-3 victory.

Aaron Murray may be the best QB in the SEC and with Georgia's defense playing at the level they are playing at, it's easy to see that Georgia could find themselves in a BCS game or better at the end of the year. To predict their record, I could see them going undefeated all the way to the SEC Championship Game. The biggest tests will be Florida and South Carolina.

Now, on to the NFL and the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons are now 3-0. They beat the Chiefs, which isn't too surprising (then again, the Chiefs just beat New Orleans in the Superdome). They beat Denver, which was a good win that was marred by horrible officiating. And today, on a short week, they went to San Diego and beat the Chargers 27-3.

Matt Ryan is playing like an elite quarterback and the Falcon defense, under the leadership of Mike Nolan, is making other teams look bad. The Chargers were averaging 30 points per game before the Falcons shut them down. Michael Turner still has some gas in the tank, as does Tony Gonzalez. The White-Jones wideout tandem gives defensive coordinators nightmares.

Atlanta changed coordinators in the offseason, and the change appears to have worked. The 3-0 start is huge, especially when you realize that the Saints are 0-3. The Falcons have to keep up the pace, though. Since I've predicted everyone else's record, let's recap this one. Back in August, I predicted that Atlanta would go 11-5, but I can easily see this Falcons team winning 12 or 13 games.

Football Future-see 2012: Week Four

Record

Week 1…..8-1

Week 2…..5-0

Week 3…..2-3

Week 4…..5-0

Overall..…20-4

Review/Preview:
Well that did not go well at all. Just a week after my first “perfect week” of 2012, I slammed face-first into the goal post. Both of my upset picks went horribly awry, and I beginning to think that maybe, just maybe, Notre Dame is better than I’ve given them credit for. I’m only picking one upset game this week. This week’s slate features two SEC conference games, one ACC game, once Big XII game, and Notre Dame, as I must abide by internet sports writing law….Notre Dame.

The Games:

18 Michigan at 11 Notre Dame ....CORRECT

The Fighting Irish (a name that is somehow not considered racially insensitive, although Fighting Sioux is) are a solid football team. They shut down a potent Michigan State team, and now the Wolverines roll into town. Michigan is rebounding after the week one thumping from Alabama, and Denard Robinson is putting up rather good numbers. I just don’t think it’ll be enough. Notre Dame has some serious momentum.

FINAL SCORE: Notre Dame 24, Michigan 21

15 Kansas State at 6 Oklahoma ....CORRECT

Kansas State has been a pleasant surprise to me this season. I really hadn’t counted on them being in the discussion, much less a top 15 team. But the Wildcats dismantled Miami a week or two back and now they have to go into Norman. I expect Oklahoma to be ready, and it’s entirely possible that Oklahoma rolls in this game. But if I always picked the favorites, then what kind of prognosticator would I be? K-State for a close win, maybe even in OT.

FINAL SCORE: Kansas State 34, Oklahoma 31

Vanderbilt at 5 Georgia ....CORRECT

Last year, these two teams went nuts at the end of the game and Vandy’s head coach got in a screaming match with Georgia’s defensive coordinator. The two have since “made nice” and hopefully matured. Georgia’s offense has been solid, scoring 45, 41, and 56 in their first three games. The defense is coming around. Jarvis Jones will be back after sitting out the Florida Atlantic game to heal up. Bacarri Rambo and Alec Ogletree will not be back for this game, but they should be back in uniform for next week against Tennessee. Still, Georgia has more than enough, so long as they don’t get caught looking ahead.

FINAL SCORE: Georgia 31, Vanderbilt 17

Missouri at 7 South Carolina ....CORRECT

Missouri’s baptism by fire into the SEC continues. They played Georgia at home in week two and lost by 21. Now they have to go to South Carolina…and Columbia is not exactly the easiest place to play. QB James Franklin has been off and on, dealing with shoulder pain. South Carolina will have Connor Shaw at QB, and they still have a good defense, perhaps the second best in the SEC East. Gamecocks win, and they do so by pulling away in the second half. Missouri is still learning that it takes four quarters of high-level play to win in the SEC.

FINAL SCORE: South Carolina 34, Missouri 21

10 Clemson at 4 Florida State ....CORRECT

Believe it or not, I have a hard time picking this game. Both of these teams embody the “I’ll believe it when I see it” philosophy I have for several college football teams. Florida State has been great so far, winning the three games they’ve played by a combined score of 176-3. But their next two games are this home tilt with Clemson and then at South Florida, which is not always a pushover. Clemson is 3-0 as well, but they recently gave up 27 points to Ball State. Florida State may win this one running away…or it may take five or six overtimes. I just don’t have a solid read on either team.

FINAL SCORE: Florida State 28, Clemson 21

Football Future-see 2012: Week 3

Record

Week 1…..8-1

Week 2…..5-0

Week 3…..2-3

Overall..…15-4

Review/Preview:
A perfect week already. I had Florida over A&M by 4. They won by 3. Kansas State laid a heavier beating on Miami than I predicted. Savannah State kept the game close for about fifteen seconds against FSU. I had LSU winning 42-10…they won 41-3. And Georgia went into “the Zou” and left with the W. Yeah, I picked a couple of easier games and no real upsets. But that changes this week. I’ve got two upsets on the board this week, with two all-SEC games, to SEC-non-conference games, and the obligatory Notre Dame report, because apparently if you choose to cover college football you have to mention Notre Dame at least once every ten minutes…Notre Dame.

The Games:

1 Alabama at Arkansas.....CORRECT

Arkansas stumbled and then tumbled. They tripped up against Louisiana-Monroe in overtime, and then fell from #8 to unranked in one week. QB Tyler Wilson was injured in the game, and his status is not yet known for Saturday. Alabama, though, doesn’t care. The Tide ripped through Michigan in week one and then showed mercy to Western Kentucky in week two. I doubt very seriously that Saban and his team are looking past Arkansas and at their next opponent: Florida Atlantic.
FINAL SCORE: Alabama 41, Arkansas 21

18 Florida at 23 Tennessee.....INCORRECT

Here is your first upset special, if you choose to call it that. I think Tennessee is better than Florida in almost every aspect of the game, and especially at QB. Tyler Bray is a beast. Florida settled on a quarterback, went to Kyle Field, and beat Texas A&M in a rather close game. The momentum from that win may carry the Gators, but at Knoxville, look for UT to W-I-N.
FINAL SCORE: Tennessee 28, Florida 17

Florida Atlantic at 7 Georgia.....CORRECT

Florida Atlantic is 1-1 on the year, with a 4-point-win over Wagner and a 14-point-loss to Middle Tennessee. They play Georgia on Saturday, and then they go to Alabama next week. In other words, it’s not a good time to be an FAU fan. Georgia walked out of Columbia proving the doubters wrong and hanging 41 points on SEC-newcomer Missouri. Georgia is getting better, having averaged 43 points per game this season. As the suspended defensive players return you’ll see just how strong these Dawgs actually are.
FINAL SCORE: Georgia 56, Florida Atlantic 13

14 Texas at Ole Miss.....INCORRECT
Here is your other upset special for the week. First glance, and historical knowledge, would say to take Texas all the way. But Ole Miss is averaging 283 rushing yards and 268 passing yards per game, totaling to nearly 39 points per. Texas is not nearly as balanced. The Longhorns give up only about 10 points per game while Ole Miss is giving up 19, but this game will still be closer than you might think. Given that it is in Oxford, and it’s the first time in a long time that Texas has stepped into an SEC stadium, I think the potential is all over this game for an upset.
FINAL SCORE: Ole Miss 24, Texas 21 in OT

20 Notre Dame at 10 Michigan State.....INCORRECT
This may be the best game of week three. Notre Dame is energized and has the ND faithful really hoping for a great season. Michigan State is like a blue collar worker. No one is really paying them the attention they should be getting. Well, after this week, that changes. Sparty will knock off Notre Dame, cement themselves in the top ten, and then look to start owning the Big Ten.
FINAL SCORE: Michigan State 28, Notre Dame 24

Football Future-see 2012: Week 2

Record
Week One ..... 8-1
Week Two .... 5-0
Overall ......... 13-1

The Games

Miami at 21 Kansas State .....CORRECT
This is a tough game to pick, because I'm not completely sold on Kansas State, but neither am I sold on Miami. I think the 'Canes give this one a good go, but K-State should pull away in the fourth.
FINAL SCORE: Kansas State 27, Miami 20

Savannah State at 6 Florida State .....CORRECT
I know this is an easy call, but it's more of an ego thing than anything. I'm trying to see how close I can get on this score. Savannah State just gave up 84 points to Oklahoma State, who was picked by only 67.5 points. FSU is picked by 70.5 points. The Seminoles have never really been known for their mercy, and they may just hang 100 points on Savannah State, but I have a feeling the foot comes ff the gas sometime around halftime.
FINAL SCORE: Florida State 77, Savannah State 0

7 Georgia at Missouri .....CORRECT
Georgia didn't exactly look great in scoring 45 points against Buffalo. Then again, it was the first game, a few players were suspended and hurt, and it took the team some time to work out the kinks. Georgia's defensive front is likely to win the battle along the line of scrimmage. It'll be a nail-biter, but the Dawgs win in the end.
FINAL SCORE: Georgia 28, Missouri 24

Washington at 3 LSU .....CORRECT
This may be a surprisingly tough non-conference game for LSU, but I doubt it. QB Zach Mettenberger has the LSU faithful full of hope. I'd say this game stay close until the half, after which LSU steadily pulls away.
FINAL SCORE: LSU 42, Washington 14

24 Florida at Texas A&M .....CORRECT
The Aggies get their first taste of SEC action, welcoming the somewhat anemic Gators to Kyle Field. Florida settled on a QB, and although they weren't great against Bowling Green, Florida has still played a game to get things settled don on both sides of the ball. Texas A&M saw their first game postponed thanks to Hurricane Isaac. They've not had the chance to work out the kinks. I think this gives Florida the advantage.
FINAL SCORE: Florida 28, Texas A&M 24