7 posts tagged “quarterback”
Demon Deacons -2 1/2 vs. Tigers
ESPN's traditional Thursday game looked to be quite an interesting matchup before the season and it is living up to its billing, however for not the reason many people thought. Both teams roll into Winston-Salem, North Carolina licking their wounds of disappointing losses. With that said, this game may still go along way in determining a clear-cut favorite for the ACC Atlantic Division title.
Number 21 Wake Forest (3-1, 1-0) suffered their first defeat at the hands of Navy two weeks ago. While that was a disappointing loss, it is nothing compared to the two losses suffered by Clemson (3-2, 1-1) in a disappointing first half for the Tigers. Clemson, once the ninth team in the nation, got dismantled by a barely ranked Alabama Crimson Tide team at Memorial Stadium in the Tigers' home and season opener.
After seemingly getting back on track with three straight victories, Clemson was upset by Maryland 20-17 on September 27. Nearly two weeks later, the game still grates on some of the Tigers' minds.
"Ten days of hearing how terrible we are and how we can't win," Junior running back C.J. Spiller said during his time off. "But we'll come together."Spiller and his teammates are not the only ones dwelling on the past.
"Any time you lose, it's pretty frustrating," Demon Deacons’ nose guard Boo Robinson said. "Any time you lose, you're going to be down on yourself. One thing about football is you've always got next week."
Wake Forest’s loss was nowhere near as tough as Clemson’s. The Tigers lost a conference game while Wake lost to an independent school. The Deacons are the only team without a loss in conference play. All is not rosy for Wake Forest because they will be losing more games if they continue to turn the ball over. In the loss to Navy, the Deacons’ had their most turnovers since 2005 and five of their six turnovers were at the hands of Junior quarterback Riley Skinner, this coming after a streak of 133 passes without an interception.
Clemson holds a comfortable lead in the all-time series, 56-16-1. The last time the teams met was November 10th of last year and the Deacons barely showed up, being routed by the Tigers 44-10.
Demon Deacons -2 1/2 vs. Tigers
ESPN's traditional Thursday game looked to be quite an interesting matchup before the season and it is living up to its billing, however for not the reason many people thought. Both teams roll into Winston-Salem, North Carolina licking their wounds of disappointing losses. With that said, this game may still go along way in determining a clear-cut favorite for the ACC Atlantic Division title.
Number 21 Wake Forest (3-1, 1-0) suffered their first defeat at the hands of Navy two weeks ago. While that was a disappointing loss, it is nothing compared to the two losses suffered by Clemson (3-2, 1-1) in a disappointing first half for the Tigers. Clemson, once the ninth team in the nation, got dismantled by a barely ranked Alabama Crimson Tide team at Memorial Stadium in the Tigers' home and season opener.
After seemingly getting back on track with three straight victories, Clemson was upset by Maryland 20-17 on September 27. Nearly two weeks later, the game still grates on some of the Tigers' minds.
"Ten days of hearing how terrible we are and how we can't win," Junior running back C.J. Spiller said during his time off. "But we'll come together."Spiller and his teammates are not the only ones dwelling on the past.
"Any time you lose, it's pretty frustrating," Demon Deacons’ nose guard Boo Robinson said. "Any time you lose, you're going to be down on yourself. One thing about football is you've always got next week."
Wake Forest’s loss was nowhere near as tough as Clemson’s. The Tigers lost a conference game while Wake lost to an independent school. The Deacons are the only team without a loss in conference play. All is not rosy for Wake Forest because they will be losing more games if they continue to turn the ball over. In the loss to Navy, the Deacons’ had their most turnovers since 2005 and five of their six turnovers were at the hands of Junior quarterback Riley Skinner, this coming after a streak of 133 passes without an interception.
Clemson holds a comfortable lead in the all-time series, 56-16-1. The last time the teams met was November 10th of last year and the Deacons barely showed up, being routed by the Tigers 44-10.
Crimson Tide -15 vs. Wildcats
The Tide continues to roll for Alabama. Waking up echoes of Paul "Bear" Bryant and the dominance of Alabama past, the Crimson Tide bravely marched right up to the favored and much-hyped Georgia Bulldogs and punched them right in the mouth on their home field. The victory was more dominant then the 41-30 score would indicate. Alabama built a 31-0 halftime lead, scoring on its first five possessions, before putting on cruise control in the second half. The win over then #3 Georgia was the second win for the Tide over a top five team in this young season.
Perhaps waking up echoes of Bear Bryant is a little much, but the teams high flying ways have certainly taken 'Bama fans back to the Gene Stallings era as the Crimson Tide (5-0, 2-0) have earned their highest ranking in 15 years. This will all be on the line as the number two ranked team in the country hosts undefeated, but unranked, Kentucky in a Saturday afternoon SEC battle.
Certainly Nick Saban's bunch is not looking past the Kentucky Wildcats (4-0, 0-0) who have looked impressive in their four wins to start the season. Saban knows that the Wildcats want to start their conference schedule out with a bang by taking out the top team in the SEC and make headlines by beating the #2 team in the country. Kentucky has the country's stingiest defense by allowing a microscopic 5.5 points per contest.
Alabama's offense will look to introduce Kentucky's defense to the SEC season in style. Quarterback John Parker Wilson threw 13 completions on 16 passes for 205 yards and a touchdown versus the Bulldogs. The running back tandem of Glen Coffee and Mark Ingram are averaging 215 yards on the ground with a league-high 13 touchdowns.
Kentucky's Mike Hartline will have to be at his best for the 'Cats to hope for an upset. He has thrown for a steady 633 yards and three touchdowns in his last two contests.
The Wildcats
will have to pick it up in their conference if they want to be a factor
on the national playing field. Last season they finished a
disappointing 3-5 in the SEC and 1-4 against ranked league opponents.
The teams meet for the first time since 2004 and that has probably been
a good thing for Kentucky since Alabama leads the series with 33-2-1
and is perfect in eight games in Tuscaloosa.
Golden Bears – 9 1/2 vs. Sun Devils
Two rivals meet in Berkeley this Saturday afternoon as the Arizona State Sun Devils venture northwest to take on the California Golden Bears.
The teams come in unranked after last season’s tilt which was a matchup of two top 20 teams. Arizona State withstood the challenge and defended their home field with a 31-20 come from behind victory. The series is fairly even at a 14-13 advantage for ASU. Prior to last season’s victory by the Sun Devils, however, the Golden Bears had won four straight.
Arizona State (2-2, 1-0) comes in after a disappointing loss to the Georgia Bulldogs on a national television Saturday night game two weeks ago. Arizona State goes how Rudy Carpenter goes. When the senior quarterback excels like he did in the early season games, the Sun Devils win, but when he struggles, as was the case against Georgia, the team struggles. Carpenter has seven touchdowns to go with his 1183 passing yards. Carpenter often gets no help from his running game. Arizona State ranks a putrid 111 in rushing yards.
Meanwhile Cal excels in the rushing category. Led by running backs Jahvid Best and Shane Vereen, the Bears rank a respectable 21st in the nation in rushing. California comes off a victory over Colorado State one week ago, which was a good way for the Bears to rebound after a cross country trip to Maryland prior to that.
Both teams have their share of minor dings, but no one has been ruled out for this Saturday’s contest.
Red Raiders -7 vs. Wildcats
Lead by one of the best quarterback to wide receiver duos in all of college football, Texas Tech is making a legitimate case for being a national title contender. Tech quarterback Graham Harrell and wide receiver Michael Crabtree are as lethal combination as they come. The two Heisman hopefuls have already connected six times in only four games so far.
Although Texas Tech is just cruising at 4-0, Kansas State will be their first real challenge this season. Tech may have the best offense when these two teams square off, but not by much as Kansas State can light up the scoreboard as well.
The Wildcats are coming off an impressive offensive display by putting up 45 points in a victory over Louisiana-Lafayette, mainly do to the performance of their freshman quarterback Josh Freeman who threw for three touchdowns.
This game will probably closer than Texas Tech's #9 ranking would suggest, but expect a high scoring affair when these two high powered offenses go head to head. It should be an entertaining game, but expect Tech to improve to 5-0.
Mountaineers -14 vs. Scarlet Knights
The Scarlet Knights of Rutgers have had quite a bit of success in the Big East Conference over the past few years, but they will truly have their hands full when they travel to Mountaineer Field on Saturday.
While Pat White has not had the same success piloting the Mountaineer offense this year that he did in years past, he is still a very formidable quarterback with both his arms and legs, as he showed in the 27-3 win over Marshall on September 27th. Adding talented sophomore back Noel Devine into the mix of the Mountaineers' spread offense will truly give opponents fits.
Rutgers opened the campaign with three straight losses, then won last Saturday with a 38-0 triumph over I-AA Morgan State.
Both defenses are in the middle of the pack of the Big East, with Rutgers's 39th ranked unit with a slight edge over the Mountaineers' 45th.
Many teams end up in shootouts with West Virginia, and
Rutgers just may not have the firepower to hang with them. It will rely
upon its defense, who will have to make the right stops at the right
times in order to have a chance of getting a one-up on the Mountaineers.
Cowboys -25 1/2 vs. Aggies
This game may simply be tough. Oklahoma State is 4-0 and in the top 25, while Texas A&M is struggling and needing a good win.
It seems highly unlikely that they'll get it against the Cowboys, who come busting in, out, and all over with the top rushing offenses in the country, and one of the highest scoring at 51.8 points per game.
To the Aggies' credit, they are pretty adept at stopping the air attack, with only 140 yards allowed. But the Cowboys won't need to take to the air often, as they can pound the ball mercilessly at the heart of the A&M defense. The Aggies may not get a chance to play catchup, as starting quarterback Stephen McGee is out with a shoulder injury.
Besides the pass defense factor, one thing that the Aggies may have on their side is recent history, as Oklahoma State has lost the last two matchups. However, history has little relevance in football, and monkeys get thrown off backs regularly. Look for the Cowboys to pound their way to a 5-0 record.
