Week Three Preview

Posted by RalphNuts on Sep 11, 2012 in NCAA Football | 0 comments

Ol CloneRoach is on the ball this week, getting us the weekend preview already on Tuesday. Snap. Might have something to do with his firstborn son set to arrive any day now. Hey CloneRoach, hate to break it to you, but you might not be catching all the games this weekend.

Here is the soon to be proud papa’s breakdown:

We saw some amazing upsets in Week Two with UL-Monroe shocking the Razorbacks of Arkansas and Arizona thumping the Oklahoma State Cowboys. Some conferences like the Pac-12 showed their depth with wins by Arizona (over Oklahoma State), Arizona State (over Illinois), UCLA (over Nebraska) and Oregon State (over Wisconsin). The common theme in three of those victories was the Big 10 which took a huge hit over the weekend finishing 6-6. The Big 10 is now 2-7 against BCS competition this year. Yikes.

Here are my Conference Rankings:

1. SEC
2. Big 12
3. Pac-12
4. ACC
5. Big 10
6. Big East
7. Mountain West
8. WAC
9. Conference USA
10. Mid-American
11. Sun Belt

Games to Watch this weekend

1) Notre Dame at Michigan State — The Spartan defense has looked outstanding so far this year and the Spartans now are the frontrunner for the Big 10 title.

2) Florida at Tennessee — The Gator offense has looked pedestrian so far this year. However, a young Florida team showed moxie coming from behind in College Station. Tennessee fans liked what they saw in the win against NC State. But a win against a middle-tier ACC program is a far cry from beating the Gators.

3) Ohio at Marshall — The Bobcats are 2-0 and receiving votes in the Top 25. Marshall has a solid offense and plenty of weapons at the skill positions. Bobcats will be in for a fight.

4) Alabama at Arkansas — John L. Smith couldn’t have scripted things worse. Lose the second game of the season to a Sun Belt squad and then get the defending champions at home. Don’t forget that Tyler Wilson is hurt and you will have to start a freshman QB. Watch out.

5) Arizona State at Missouri — Todd Graham has changed programs faster than a hippie changes lovers, but he might have found the right spot in Tempe. The Sun Devil offense looks fantastic. I watched the Sun Devils on Saturday night against Illinois and it looked like varsity versus JV. The Illini might be challenged on offense but they are very solid on defense. ASU might be surprise challenger for USC.

6) USC at Stanford — How good is Stanford? No Andrew Luck and they struggle against San Jose State. Then they thump Duke 50-13. USC struggled on the road against Syracuse in the Meadowlands and the defense appears susceptible at times. USC wins by 10.

7) Utah State at Wisconsin — Assistant coaches are important and turnover can absolutely crush a program. No one believed the loss of Paul Chryst would hurt the Badgers as bad as it has. I’m not sure that firing the O-line coach makes a huge difference at this point. Utah State is a solid defensive squad and is coming off an overtime win against Utah. Remember the name Chuckie Keeton.

8- Texas at Mississippi – The Longhorns have looked very good on defense so far this year allowing 17 points over two games. Ole Miss is rebuilding and a win would go a long way in the building the foundation for Hugh Freeze and the Rebel program. In the end Texas will have too much talent and get a nice win against the SEC.