Last week: 6-3
Nailed: Texas A&M-South Carolina (guess was A&M 28-24, final was 26-23); Oregon-Washington (guess was Oregon 31-27, final was 30-27)
Whiffed: Georgia-LSU (guess was Georgia 27-17, final was LSU 36-16); correctly picked winner of winner Notre Dame-Pittsburgh but I guessed a blowout of 42-17, but Irish won just 19-14
Season: 56-29
Paul Bunyan Trophy
No. 6 Michigan (6-1) at No. 24 Michigan State (4-2), Noon Fox
Michigan dropped its opener to Notre Dame on the road by a touchdown but has played pretty well since then, struggling only against Northwestern. MSU dropped out of the rankings after losing to Northwestern but got a huge win last week at Penn State to climb back into contention for the Big Ten East title. The last time the home team won in this series was 2014 when MSU captured a victory in East Lansing. I like the Wolverines' consistency to win out.
Michigan 23, Michigan State 21
No. 9 Oklahoma (5-1) at TCU (3-3), Noon ABC
Oklahoma 30, TCU 26
Maryland (4-2) at No. 19 Iowa (5-1), Noon ESPN2
Iowa 30, Maryland 23
North Carolina (1-4) at Syracuse (4-2), 12:20 p.m. NBC29/The CW
Syracuse 33, North Carolina 27
Game of the week: Textile Bowl
No. 16 N.C. State (5-0) at No. 3 Clemson (6-0), 3:30 p.m. ESPN
You could argue Michigan-Michigan State is the biggest game, and "College GameDay" is actually setting up shop at Oregon-Washington State, but this battle for supremacy in the ACC Atlantic is quite significant. Clemson struggled three weeks ago against Syracuse at home, but got back on track two weeks ago by thumping Wake Forest by 60 points. Last week, the Tigers were off. The Wolfpack hasn't been getting much attention but is quietly undefeated, getting by Virginia and Boston College at home in its past two games. It hasn't played a great team yet, though, as its matchup with West Virginia was canceled because of Hurricane Florence. A win in Death Valley would instantly announce State as a viable contender for the College Football Playoff. Clemson has won six straight in the series, but the past two only by a touchdown each. State should've won two years ago at Clemson but missed a short field goal as time expired. The game went into overtime, and Clemson won and also went on to the win the national championship. As long as Clemson has its head on straight, it should win, but I think it will be interesting again.
Clemson 27, N.C. State 21
Wake Forest (3-3) at Florida State (3-3), 3:30 p.m. ESPN2
Florida State 31, Wake Forest 28
No. 22 Mississippi State (4-2) at No. 5 LSU (6-1), 7 p.m. ESPN
LSU 24, Mississippi State 17
No. 12 Oregon (5-1) at No. 25 Washington State (5-1), 7:30 p.m. Fox
Oregon 34, Washington State 31
Virginia (4-2) at Duke (5-1), 12:30 p.m. NBCSW
The Cavaliers have a tough game on the road this week, facing a Blue Devils team that has mostly cruised this season, with the exception of a 31-14 home loss to Virginia Tech. Duke beat North Carolina Central easily, but has also won its contests against FBS schools by an average margin of 30.8-15.5 (Army, Baylor, Northwestern, and Georgia Tech).
Duke QB Daniel Jones is one of the better NFL prospects in the nation, but he's had a very difficult time the past two seasons against UVa, throwing two TDs and seven picks, while also getting crushed in the end zone by Jordan Mack and fumbling in 2016, which was recovered by UVa for a touchdown. Virginia won both of those games and have taken three straight in the series. On the season, Jones, who stands tall at 6-foot-5 and 220 pounds, has completed 68.3 percent of his passes for 821 yards, eight scores, and two interceptions. He's also a good runner, though those numbers are down for him this year.
Duke's leading rusher is Deon Jackson, who has 355 yards (4.4 ypc) and five TDs. Brittain Brown follows with 317 yards (5.1 ypc) and a pair of scores. TJ Rahming (24 catches, 279 yards, 11.6 yards
per reception) and Johnathan Lloyd (23, 297, 12.9) are dangerous receivers who have five TDs each. Duke ranks 83rd in passing offense in the country and 66th in rushing offense.
Duke's defense is led by linebackers Joe Giles-Harris and Ben Humphreys. Giles-Harris has 50 tackles, two for losses, and half a sack. Humphreys has 47 tackles, 5.5 for losses, and one sack. Defensive end Chris Rumph II leads the team with three sacks. The team has 13, which is just more than two per game. Duke's passing defense ranks 48th, while the rushing defense is 47th. The Blue Devils only have three picks, so hopefully Bryce Perkins, who threw three against Miami, can do a better job of protecting the ball this week. For comparison, Virginia's secondary has eight interceptions, and Juan Thornhill has three by himself.
Duke started out 4-0 last season before UVa beat it 28-21, starting the Devils' slide to 4-6. But they recovered just in time and won their final two regular-season games to get to a bowl, which they won over Northern Illinois. It's still early to say whether this Duke team is one that could contend for the Coastal or one that will again fall back to around .500. But the Devils did a good job of rebounding from their loss to the Hokies by downing the Yellow Jackets last week on the road, a game they were up 28-7 going into the fourth quarter.
Virginia was hyped up at home last week, but in Durham, the energy level will be much lower, so the Wahoos will have to make their own energy. The challenge will be to guard against a mental lapse, as the team was locked in and focused on Miami coming off the bye, but it must go on the road and be ready for another tough team this week. By most metrics, Miami is better than Duke, and the Blue Devils haven't played a collection of great foes. But the possibility of a letdown for UVa is real. The offense was not very good against Miami, and Duke has a good -- though not as tough -- defense as well. Virginia could find points difficult to come by. And the Blue Devils can move the ball effectively on the ground and through the air. This is a tough spot for Virginia. It'll take another strong, gritty effort to pull this one out.
Duke 23, Virginia 20
Nailed: Texas A&M-South Carolina (guess was A&M 28-24, final was 26-23); Oregon-Washington (guess was Oregon 31-27, final was 30-27)
Whiffed: Georgia-LSU (guess was Georgia 27-17, final was LSU 36-16); correctly picked winner of winner Notre Dame-Pittsburgh but I guessed a blowout of 42-17, but Irish won just 19-14
Season: 56-29
Paul Bunyan Trophy
No. 6 Michigan (6-1) at No. 24 Michigan State (4-2), Noon Fox
Michigan dropped its opener to Notre Dame on the road by a touchdown but has played pretty well since then, struggling only against Northwestern. MSU dropped out of the rankings after losing to Northwestern but got a huge win last week at Penn State to climb back into contention for the Big Ten East title. The last time the home team won in this series was 2014 when MSU captured a victory in East Lansing. I like the Wolverines' consistency to win out.
Michigan 23, Michigan State 21
No. 9 Oklahoma (5-1) at TCU (3-3), Noon ABC
Oklahoma 30, TCU 26
Maryland (4-2) at No. 19 Iowa (5-1), Noon ESPN2
Iowa 30, Maryland 23
North Carolina (1-4) at Syracuse (4-2), 12:20 p.m. NBC29/The CW
Syracuse 33, North Carolina 27
Game of the week: Textile Bowl
No. 16 N.C. State (5-0) at No. 3 Clemson (6-0), 3:30 p.m. ESPN
You could argue Michigan-Michigan State is the biggest game, and "College GameDay" is actually setting up shop at Oregon-Washington State, but this battle for supremacy in the ACC Atlantic is quite significant. Clemson struggled three weeks ago against Syracuse at home, but got back on track two weeks ago by thumping Wake Forest by 60 points. Last week, the Tigers were off. The Wolfpack hasn't been getting much attention but is quietly undefeated, getting by Virginia and Boston College at home in its past two games. It hasn't played a great team yet, though, as its matchup with West Virginia was canceled because of Hurricane Florence. A win in Death Valley would instantly announce State as a viable contender for the College Football Playoff. Clemson has won six straight in the series, but the past two only by a touchdown each. State should've won two years ago at Clemson but missed a short field goal as time expired. The game went into overtime, and Clemson won and also went on to the win the national championship. As long as Clemson has its head on straight, it should win, but I think it will be interesting again.
Clemson 27, N.C. State 21
Wake Forest (3-3) at Florida State (3-3), 3:30 p.m. ESPN2
Florida State 31, Wake Forest 28
No. 22 Mississippi State (4-2) at No. 5 LSU (6-1), 7 p.m. ESPN
LSU 24, Mississippi State 17
No. 12 Oregon (5-1) at No. 25 Washington State (5-1), 7:30 p.m. Fox
Oregon 34, Washington State 31
Virginia (4-2) at Duke (5-1), 12:30 p.m. NBCSW
The Cavaliers have a tough game on the road this week, facing a Blue Devils team that has mostly cruised this season, with the exception of a 31-14 home loss to Virginia Tech. Duke beat North Carolina Central easily, but has also won its contests against FBS schools by an average margin of 30.8-15.5 (Army, Baylor, Northwestern, and Georgia Tech).
Duke QB Daniel Jones is one of the better NFL prospects in the nation, but he's had a very difficult time the past two seasons against UVa, throwing two TDs and seven picks, while also getting crushed in the end zone by Jordan Mack and fumbling in 2016, which was recovered by UVa for a touchdown. Virginia won both of those games and have taken three straight in the series. On the season, Jones, who stands tall at 6-foot-5 and 220 pounds, has completed 68.3 percent of his passes for 821 yards, eight scores, and two interceptions. He's also a good runner, though those numbers are down for him this year.
Duke's leading rusher is Deon Jackson, who has 355 yards (4.4 ypc) and five TDs. Brittain Brown follows with 317 yards (5.1 ypc) and a pair of scores. TJ Rahming (24 catches, 279 yards, 11.6 yards
Duke's defense is led by linebackers Joe Giles-Harris and Ben Humphreys. Giles-Harris has 50 tackles, two for losses, and half a sack. Humphreys has 47 tackles, 5.5 for losses, and one sack. Defensive end Chris Rumph II leads the team with three sacks. The team has 13, which is just more than two per game. Duke's passing defense ranks 48th, while the rushing defense is 47th. The Blue Devils only have three picks, so hopefully Bryce Perkins, who threw three against Miami, can do a better job of protecting the ball this week. For comparison, Virginia's secondary has eight interceptions, and Juan Thornhill has three by himself.
Duke started out 4-0 last season before UVa beat it 28-21, starting the Devils' slide to 4-6. But they recovered just in time and won their final two regular-season games to get to a bowl, which they won over Northern Illinois. It's still early to say whether this Duke team is one that could contend for the Coastal or one that will again fall back to around .500. But the Devils did a good job of rebounding from their loss to the Hokies by downing the Yellow Jackets last week on the road, a game they were up 28-7 going into the fourth quarter.
Virginia was hyped up at home last week, but in Durham, the energy level will be much lower, so the Wahoos will have to make their own energy. The challenge will be to guard against a mental lapse, as the team was locked in and focused on Miami coming off the bye, but it must go on the road and be ready for another tough team this week. By most metrics, Miami is better than Duke, and the Blue Devils haven't played a collection of great foes. But the possibility of a letdown for UVa is real. The offense was not very good against Miami, and Duke has a good -- though not as tough -- defense as well. Virginia could find points difficult to come by. And the Blue Devils can move the ball effectively on the ground and through the air. This is a tough spot for Virginia. It'll take another strong, gritty effort to pull this one out.
Duke 23, Virginia 20
Hoos looking pretty good!
ReplyDelete