I know it’s a radical idea, but I think it’s possible for the top 2 teams in the BCS to lose this week.
First off, it’s hard to say how good either of these teams are. South Florida (#2) has played a very credible schedule with wins at Auburn (5-2) and at home over West Virginia (5-1). Overall, they’re 6-0 with a win over sub-division Elon. The 5 real teams that they’ve played have a combined 18-14 record.
I love Bulls QB Matt Grothe. He’s a solid passer with over 1,100 yards through the air, but the sophomore is also a “scramblin’ fool.” Grothe has almost 350 yards on the ground with 4 TDs. Check this out.
It does, however, get much tougher from here, especially the next 3 weeks. The murderous stretch for the Bulls starts Thursdy night in Piscataway, NJ when they take on 4-2 Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights aren’t as good as 2006, with losses to Maryland and Cincinnati, but they ain’t bad. In fact, South Florida is only a 2 1/2 point favorite.
Meanwhile, Ohio St. fans are afraid of Michigan St. despite the fact that the Buckeyes are 17-point favorites. In 1998, the last time an unranked Spartans team traveled to Columbus for a game against a #1-ranked Buckeye team, they were 28-point underdogs. The Spartans came away with a shocking 28-24 upset win. Current Michigan St. Head Coach Mike Dantonio was an assistant on that Spartn staff, and he intends to use that game as inspiration. In MSU history, they are 3-13-1 against #1-ranked teams, but 2 of those 3 wins came against Ohio St..
Michigan St. has the highest scoring offense in the Pac 10 averaging 36.9 ppg, but Ohio St.’s defense is for real. They held the high-flying Purdue offense to 7 points, 272 yards in total offense and only 4 rushing yards a couple of weeks back.
On offense, the Buckeyes have a balanced attack with Chris Wells racking up 100 yards in 4 of 7 games and QB Todd Boeckman is serviceable, especially with Brian Hartline (12.3 ypc – 4 TDs) and Brian Robiskie (18.2 ypc – 6 TDs) catching the ball. The Spartans, on the other hand, get it done on the ground with TB Javon Ringer averaging 133 yards per game and 7.1 yards per carry. Ringer went for 203 with 2 TDs this past Saturday against Indiana.
I’m convinced that Ohio St. will lose at least once. They beat sub-division Youngstown St., and their other 6 wins have come against teams that are a combined 18-23. Every remaining game on the schedule is tough. They finish with 5 straight contests against teams with 5-2 records
#1 - OHIO ST.
10/20 – H Michigan St. (5-2)
10/27 - @ Penn St. (5-2)
11/3 – H Wisconsin (5-2)
11/10 – H Illinois (5-2)
11/17 - @ Michigan (5-2)
It’s not likely that both Ohio St. and South Florida will lose this week, but it’s possible….and that’s the kind of year it’s been.
Comments