Oct
5
Weekend Preview-College Football
October 5, 2007 |
It’s your boy K-Boogie back to preview what was to be Showdown Saturday. Alas after the events of last week it has turned out to be Survival Saturday. Again nothing but heavyweights so heeeere we go…………..
#12 Georgia vs Tennessee
Two stalwarts in the SEC East battle in Knoxville for an elemination game:
WHAT TO LOOK FOR WHEN GEORGIA HAS THE BALL
Georgia QB Matthew Stafford is 10-3 as a starter. He connected with Mikey Henderson for a 25-yard TD pass in overtime to knock off #16 Alabama in Tuscaloosa. He finished that game with 224 yards passing. During the Bulldogs’ 45-17 win over Ole Miss last week Thomas Brown exploded for a career-high 180 rushing yards on 16 carries and tied his career high with three touchdowns. He leads the Bulldogs with 755 all-purpose yards (393 Rushing, 84 Receiving and 278 Kickoff Returns).
Senior free safety Jonathan Hefney has a chance to stand atop Tennessee’s all-time list for starts by a position player, as he currently owns a streak of 40 consecutive starts. The school record is 49. Should the Vols play in the SEC Championship Game prior to a bowl appearance, Hefney would have a shot at 50 straight starts. Hefney has played in 41 career games.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR WHEN TENNESSEE HAS THE BALL
Darius Dewberry has been the leading tackler for the Bulldogs in three games this season and he matched his career high with eight in the win over Ole Miss. Jeff Owens earned SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week honors for his performance in the win over WCU. He had a career-high five stops, two tackles for a loss and forced a fumble.
Senior quarterback Erik Ainge is on track to hold a prominent place on the SEC’s all-time chart for career touchdown passes. Ainge needs just one passing touchdown to tie former LSU signal caller JaMarcus Russell for 20th place in SEC history with 52. Lucas Taylor has 24 catches for 382 yards and two touchdowns this season. He is ranked second in the SEC with 95.5 receiving yards per game and tied for second with six receptions per game. (fromsecsports.com)
Georgia 24 Tennessee 21
#9 Florida vs #1LSU
After last week’s lost to Auburn Florida really needs to win this game in one of the most intimidating places to play in the nation. Did I mention this game is at night.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR WHEN FLORIDA HAS THE BALL
Tim Tebow’s passer rating of 185.4 is the third-highest in the nation. Tebow has completed 69.7 percent of his passes, which is the eighth-highest mark in the country and is the best in the SEC. Tebow has thrown eight passes for 40-or-more yards this season, which is already three higher than UF did all of last season. This season, Percy Harvin is first on the team with 629 all-purpose yards and is averaging 125.8 yards per game.
Defensively, LB Ali Highsmith leads the team with 33 tackles, including 3.5 for losses. DE Kirston Pittman has 26 tackles and a team-best 5.5 tackles for losses. LSU All-America DT Glenn Dorsey has 25 tackles, 4.5 TFLs and 3 sacks to his credit this year. As a unit, LSU’s defense has recorded an SEC best 18 sacks to go with a league-high 10 interceptions.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR WHEN LSU HAS THE BALL
This season, Brandon Spikes and Dustin Doe rank as Florida’s leading tacklers with 46 and 32, respectively. Defensive end Derrick Harvey recorded a pair of sacks in Florida’s last game against Auburn to bring his career total to 17. Over the last six games, Harvey has totaled eight sacks.
QB Matt Flynn, who is 4-0 as a starter, has thrown for 673 yards and 3 TDs with just 2 interceptions. LSU’s running back-by-committee approach is averaging 223.4 yards per game, which ranks third in the SEC, is led by RB Jacob Hester, who has rushed for 327 yards and 4 scores. RB Keiland Williams is second on the team with 226 yards and 4 TDs, while RB Trindon Holliday has 147 yards and 1 TD. Five different running backs have scored TDs for the Tigers this year. (fromsecsports.com)
Florida 17 LSU 13
#17 Missouri vs #25 Nebraska
In the other major matchup in the Big 12 can Nebraska shake off their underachieving play and battle Mizzou
(ESPN, 9:15 p.m. ET) This game sets up much like Ohio State-Purdue. Missouri has yet to be tested (except by Illinois), since its wins came against Illinois, Ole Miss, Western Michigan and Illinois State — not exactly a murderer’s row. Missouri’s offense, led by the talented Chase Daniel, matches up well against Nebraska’s defense and should be able to exploit some of the holes in the Huskers’ coverage. Daniel hasn’t been mentioned for a lot of postseason awards, but good performances in front of a national audience against Nebraska and next week against Oklahoma could do what the Louisville and Arkansas wins did for Andre’ Woodson’s Heisman campaign.
The Huskers can’t give up the ball multiple times like they did against Ball State; to beat Missouri, they’ll have to keep Daniel off the field as much as possible. Missouri has beaten Nebraska the past two times the Huskers have visited Columbia. Can the Tigers make it three in a row?(fromespn.com)
Missouri 35 Nebraska 17
#4 Ohio State vs #23 Purdue
We finally preview a nice matchup in the Big 11 who will win I have no idea
ABC, 8 p.m. ET)
I’ve been impressed with Purdue’s offensive weaponry; in terms of accuracy, Curtis Painter is beginning to remind me of Drew Brees. His improvement is tough to ignore. In 2006, he threw 19 picks and was sacked 20 times. Through five games, the Boilermakers’ junior QB has just three interceptions and four sacks.
That said, Purdue has yet to be challenged the way it will be by Ohio State. The Boilers will have to play mistake-free ball to hang with the Buckeyes and force Ohio State to give up the ball. That’s easier said than done on both accounts. Ohio State ranks in the top four in every major defensive category: total, scoring, rushing and passing efficiency. But the Buckeyes haven’t faced an offense like Purdue’s this year. The Boilers can spread you out. Painter will look for Dorien Bryant as much as possible; he’s a speedy receiver capable of making big plays. Purdue hasn’t played a tough team yet, but the Boilers have played consistently. It will be interesting to see if they can take it up a notch Saturday. (fromespn.com)
Purdue 42 Ohio State 28
#10 Oklahoma vs #19 Texas
In what was supposed to be your appetizer before the Florida-LSU game the Red River shootout had a little luster taken away from it when both teams fell last week.
Regardless of what the nation has said about this game losing its luster now that Texas and Oklahoma no longer are undefeated, it’s a critical game for both teams in terms of conference play. The team that loses certainly has a difficult road ahead of it.
The key for Texas will be containing Oklahoma’s powerful ground game. The Longhorns can take a page out of Colorado’s book and try to keep the Sooners’ offense off the field as much as possible. Texas’ defense isn’t playing that poorly (its rushing D is 16th in the nation), but its offense and special teams gave up 21 points to Kansas State. Both teams had breakdowns in their kicking games in Week 5. Whichever team can correct those issues first will have an advantage.
Oklahoma was dominant in its first four games, outscoring opponents by an average of nearly 50 points. Texas, on the other hand, has struggled against nearly every team on its schedule. Texas must protect QB Colt McCoy, who was banged up in the K-State loss, to win. The Horns have to get on the board early; if they fall behind, Oklahoma will tee off on them.
The Red River Rivalry is one of the most unique games in college sports, and the buildup started early this week. When you add the 200,000 people at the state fair to the stadium-capacity crowd donned in burnt orange or crimson, you have an electric atmosphere. Since Bob Stoops and Mack Brown took over at their respective programs, this game has had conference and national title implications. Despite what happened in Week 5, that hasn’t changed.(fromespn.com)
Oklahoma 28 Texas 7
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Tags: College football, Florida, LSU Tigers, Nebraska CornHuskers, Oklahoma Sooners, Percy Harvin, previews, Texas Longhorns, Tim Tebow