Games of the Week
#15 Texas A&M Aggies (7-2) at #1 Alabama Crimson Tide (9-0)
This is a big game for both teams. A&M is coming off a big win at Starkville and looking to show everybody they are a player in the SEC. What better way then to knock off the Tide. In Alabama's case, a win here would clinch their spot in the SEC Championship game and help pave teh way for an undefeated season. The battle to watch is to see how QB Johnny Manziel does against the fierce Crimson Tide defense. If Manziel can eliminate turnovers that hurt him against LSU the Aggie offense can put up points. But you have to wonder what blitzes and schemes Saban will use to confuse the freshman signal caller. A&M is also going to have to try and get to AJ McCarron while slowing down the power rushing attack.
Prediction: A&M 13 Alabama 31
#4 Kansas State Wildcats (9-0) at TCU Horned Frogs (6-3)The big story line of this game is the health of KState QB Collin Klein. Klein suffered some form of a concussion in last weeks game and his status is uncertain. If Klein can't go, this game is a toss up. Sure KState has RB John Hubert and some other weapons, but they aren't the same without the Heisman Front runner. If Klein plays the Wildcats aren't a guaranteed winner. TCU has a ton of talent and before QB Casey Pachall left the team they were a regular in the Power Rankings. TCU also has a strong defense that will give the Wildcat offense fits. Add in that TCU HC Gary Patterson is a KState alumn, they have extra motivation on their side.
Prediction: KState 38 TCU 20
#23 Mississippi State Bulldogs (7-2) at #9 LSU Tigers (7-2)
Both of these teams are coming off losses and hoping to get back on track. Mississippi State is on a two game losing streak and looking to show the nation that they didn't jump out to a 7-0 record only because they played crappy teams. LSU is looking to avoid a 3 loss season and keep their chances of getting to a BCS Bowl. Miss State got gashed last week by Texas A&M and they need to shore up some holes to prevent the LSU offense from exploiting them too. QB Zach Mettenberger is coming off his best game of the year and the Tigers could really use him to have another one. If he can do that the Tigers should roll with a victory. It will also be interesting to see how Miss State QB Tyler Russell does with the talented LSU defensive line. He did have issues last week against the Aggies. Don't look for this one to be that close.
Prediction: Miss State 6 LSU 24
#14 Oregon State Beavers (7-1) at #16 Stanford Cardinal (7-2)
Although neither of these teams will probably go to the Pac 12 Title game, this is a huge game for both teams. The winner of this game could realistically make it to the Rose Bowl if Oregon stays undefeated. The problem is avoiding having 3 losses. Because you can't qualify for the BCS if you have three losses. Both teams will bring good defenses to the game. Stanford's physical defense will look to stop the passing attack of Oregon, while Oregon State's defense will have to deal with the power running of Stepfan Taylor. The winner will likely be the team whose offense makes the fewest mistakes. This game is also a battle of backup QBs as Cody Vaz took over for Sean Mannion when he got hurt and Kevin Hogan took over for Josh Nunes who has struggled to replace Andrew Luck.
Prediction: Oregon State 17 Stanford 14
Penn State Nittany Lions (6-3) at #17 Nebraska Cornhuskers (7-2)
This game isn't getting a lot of nation hype, but it is still a very good game against two quality teams. Penn State was the talk of college football for their 5 game winning streak, but are all forgotten about now. All they did was lose to a good Ohio State team. Nebraska in on a three game winning streak with two of those games had them coming from a double digit deficit. Nebraska is in the drivers seat in the Big 10 Legends Division, but need to win out to control their own destiny. But this will be tough against a physical Penn State defense that will look to slow down QB Taylor Martinez and the Husker rushing attack. Penn State QB Matt McGloin has had a good season and is throwing the ball all over the field. He'll test the blackshirt defense. But HC Bo Pelini has a ton of success against immobile QBs and McGloin is your prototypical pocket QB. This should be a fun game to watch.
Prediction: Penn State 17 Nebraska 24
Coaching Hot Seat
Derek Dooley
Record at Tennessee: 32-39
Bowl Appearances: 1
Record at Tennessee: 32-39
Bowl Appearances: 1
When Lane Kiffin left Tennesse after only serving one year on the job the administration chose to go in a different direction hiring Louisiana Tech Head Coach Derek Dooley. The decision to hire Dooley was a cause for concern because he wasn't a hot coaching name and his 17-20 record at LaTech wasn't very good. Heck he was 4-8 in his last year. Not too impressive of a record coming into the premier college football conference. You have to wonder if the AD hired Dooley with the thought he wouldn't leave for the next best job.
As many expected, things haven't gone very well for Dooley. His first year was his best. He ended with a 6-7 record and made it to the Music City Bowl. In year two they finished with only 5 wins and only won one SEC game. His hot seat was getting pretty warm in year 2.
This year looked like it could go pretty well. The Vols entered the season with a ton of talent on the offensive with QB Tyler Bray and WRs Justin Hunter, Da'Rick Rodgers, and Cordalle Patterson. However Rodgers was kicked off the team. Tennessee started the season with a big win over NC State, but once SEC conference play started the wheels fell off. They lost a 2nd half lead to Florida, lost by less than 10 points to Georgia, Miss State, and South Carolina but all of them are losses. They haven't won a game in the SEC yet and almost lost to Troy. The Vols only have 3 wins on the season and have to beat Missouri, Kentucky, and Vanderbilt just to be bowl eligible.
It doesn't look very good for Dooley. Even if he wins out the rest of the year, the SEC is an impatient league and they'll likely be looking for a new coach. The hot name is John Gruden who was a former GA at Tennessee and married a Tennessee alumn. However Gruden is the hottest coaching name out there and will probably go for a better job. Even with being in the SEC and having some tradition. It's hard to recruit to Tennessee and that could scare some coaches off. It will be interesting to see what they do. The fan base wants more, but they might not get it.
What happened to....
Going into this season the expectations for the Iowa Hawkeyes weren't great. They were not favored to win their division and getting to 8 wins was seen to be their ceiling. Heck some places even predicted them to be the second worse team in their division. So why are they here?
If you remember back to the 2009 season the Hawkeyes finished with an 11-2 record and a win over Georgia Tech in the Orange Bowl. Although not a super power the Hawkeyes have a history of competing for the Big 10 Title and regularly posting 9 win seasons. However the Hawkeyes won 7 games in both 2010 and 2011. This year Iowa has only 4 wins on the season with three remaining. That means they'll have to beat Purdue and then either Michigan or Nebraska just to be bowl eligible. That's a long ways from this team winning a BCS game three years ago.
One of the biggest reasons the Hawkeyes have struggled is their offense. They have always put out good offensive lines, but the skill positions haven't had the same impact that they did in previous years. The running back position has been a mess. Since the 2009 season the Hawkeyes have had a revolving door at RB. Marcus Coker was a stud in 2011 but left the team. This year their star is former Air Force FB Mark Wiseman. But even he has missed games because of injuries. Iowa fans have focused their criticism on former OC Norm Parker for his conservative style. Parker retired and the Hawkeyes hired former Texas OC Greg Davis. Davis was known for his spread offenses, but the Hawkeyes have continued to run the same style of offense that Parker did.
Don't look for HC Kirk Ferentz to be on the hot seat. He's owed over $20 million dollars on his contract and the University isn't ready to buy that out. But some changes need to happen or the Hawkeyes could go from being on a bad stretch to being a forgotten program.
How about....
When you think of successful Indiana programs your first reaction is going to be towards their basketball program. Not the football one. But with the season that the Hoosier Football team is having, people do have to take noticed.
Last year Kevin Wilson took over a program that hasn't had hardly any success. Wilson came from Oklahoma where he was the OC and a big part of some high powered offenses. Wilson also won the Broyles Award for top assistant coach in the nation. His first season was rocky at best. He finished with a 1-11 record and was more famous for his exchange with Fox Radio hosts "Zach and Jack." At one point Wilson had secured a commitment from top QB prospect Gunner Kiel, but Kiel later decommitted and ended up going to Notre Dame.
It was safe to say that the second year of Wilson's tenure wasn't very highly anticipated. But this year has not only exceeded expectations, but blew them out. Indiana has 4 wins so far and 2 of them are in conference. Because Penn State and Ohio State cannot compete in the Big 10 Title Game the Hoosiers are tied with Wisconsin for the lead in the Leaders Division. Indiana's offense has also taken a big jump this year. They are currently 3rd in the Big 10 in total offense and 1st in passing yards per game. Add in that the Hoosiers have 3 four star commitments and the future looks good for this once doormat program.
Player Spotlight
William Gholston
Height: 6'6Weight: 280
School: Michigan State
Year: JR
Position: Defensive End
Going into the season there were some high hopes for Gholston. He had the frame and physical skills to be a dominant defensive end. He is your prototypical get off the bus first player. He looks the part. As a sophomore he was inconsistent and had the tendency to disappear at times. Going into his junior year many were looking to see Gholston become more consistent and dominate more.
So far as a junior it's been too much the same as last year. At times he's looked as a top 5 pick, then the next game he disappears and you forget he is on the field. Gholston does a great job taking on blockers and still being able to make plays. With skills like this he'd be a good fit as a LDE in a 4-3 defense, but he could also fit well as a 5-technique defensive end in a 3-4 defense. Teams could use him a lot like Arizona does with Calias Campbell. Gholston might be better off staying at Michigan State for his senior year, but he does come out some team in the 2nd round will likely pull the trigger on him.
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