Saturday, October 9 at 2 PM
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The Aggies took it to an underwhelming BYU team last weekend and dominated every aspect of the game. This is what we expected from Utah State from the beginning. Diondre Borel looks like he is hitting his stride just in time to start conference play. Utah State's offensive and defensive numbers are still middle of the pack nationally, but they seem to be picking up momentum and could push for some upper-tier stats come season end. On the other hand, Louisiana Tech is even worse when it comes to offensive and defensive output, and without question are having a down year. It looks like the Bulldogs have settled with Colby Cameron as their starting quarterback (for now) and he is way behind the yardage pace compared to most quarterbacks nationally. On the other side of the ball, the Bulldogs cannot stop anybody. In fact they are saved from being in last place in the WAC thanks to an even worse New Mexico State team. However, LA Tech does play tough at home. I hate picking Utah State to lose because of the performance they put on last Friday...Nope. Sorry, I can't do it.
Prediction: Aggies 28, Bulldogs 24
Saturday, October 9 at 6 PM
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It is an understatement to say that the status of Division-1 football in the state of New Mexico is nothing short of sliver-under-the-nail-because-of-scraping-the-bottom-of-the-barrel-so-hard horrible. The Lobos are 0-5 and the Aggies are 0-4. The difference is New Mexico can actually score some points every now and then. Last week they lost at home to UTEP 38 to 20. Then again, they rank almost dead last in every offensive and defensive category. QB Tarean Austin plays as ugly as his name is. The Aggies are no better as far as stats and numbers go, but they are giving up less points per game (46 to 52.6). My head is spinning just thinking about how bad I want to avoid watching this contest! Tanner Rust will be the starting QB due to a Matt Christian shoulder injury he sustained against Boise State last week. New Mexico State is favored by 3 points, and I have no idea how they decided that or who to choose as the winner. I think I will go with the home team as the WAC takes another decisive victory over the Mountain West (laughs out loud as he types)!
Prediction: Aggies 24, Lobos 17
Saturday, October 9 at 10 PM
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Fresno State comes off a disappointing win over FBS neighbor Cal Poly. They still got the "W," but it was not as dominating as it should have been. We'll call it a hangover from the physically tough loss at Ole' Miss the weekend before. Looking at their numbers this year, I can't help but think of how the Bulldogs are constantly winning, putting up great stats, and always making it close to the top of the college football world, but they can't quite push themselves up. Maybe the move to the Mountain West will help. At the same time the Rainbow Warriors blow my mind. They put up gaudy offensive numbers year in and year out, but with the exception of the 2007 season, cannot do diddly squat on defense. Pizza delivery boy turned quarterback Bryant Moniz threw for 532 yards and 4 touchdowns last week, which is good, but it was especially important because the defense gave up 21 points to a crappy Louisiana Tech offensive unit. Mind sufficiently blown. It will not be as easy for Moniz this week against a respectable Bulldog secondary. Fresno State is favored by 11.5 in this one. It should be a little bit closer than that.
Prediction: Bulldogs 45, Rainbow Warriors 38
Saturday, October 9 at 8:30 PM
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"Like a lamb to the slaughter..." That is how the Spartans have to be feeling right now. After blowing a 13-0 lead at halftime last week at home to FBS mainstay UC Davis and losing 14-13, they have to be completely demoralized. As they travel to Reno, their eyes must be wide and filled with the poisonous dread of their impending doom. Remember the good ol' days when San Jose State was a pretty formidable opponent, especially at home? That was back when Dick Tomey was the head coach and not making peoples' ears bleed from having to listen to him on the WAC Sports Network. They rank dead last in points scored per game at 9.8. The Wolfpack are rolling as QB Colin "Bird Leg" Kaepernick is thrust into national recognition. There is even a story on him on si.com. It's actually pretty cool. Check it out. Anyway, this will be nothing short of a bloodbath. Enough said.
Prediction: Wolfpack 52, Spartans 14
The moment you have all been patiently been waiting for!!!!!
Saturday, October 9 at 6 PM
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I must admit that I do not know very much about Toledo. Boise State doesn't either as this will be the first meeting between the two schools. They don't even really recruit the same kids. Here is what I have gathered about the Rockets; they are 3-0 on the road, but 0-2 at home. Their most impressive win was at Purdue, a Big 10 team (winning on the road against a BCS school is a difficult thing to do, regardless of how bad said BCS is perceived to be. Ask Fresno State how the Ole' Miss game went for them). However, last week they lost 20-15 to Wyoming at home. They have a freak athlete at wide receiver named Eric Page, who was a freshman All-American last season and is on pace to score a lot of touchdowns this year. They also have a tackling machine at linebacker named Archie Donald. Actually, he also has 2 interceptions to go along with the 52 tackles that he has amounted so far. Their mascot is the Rockets. That is it. According to si.com, they score an average of 21 points a game and give up 23.6. I can say that the Toledo rockets are not the New Mew Mexico State Aggies. What I mean is they will put up a fight a lot more than NMSU did. QB Austin Dantin had been the starter but was benched last week against Wyoming for freshman Terrance Owens. Either way expect the Rockets to find ways to get the ball into the hands of play maker Eric Page. The Broncos will not be able to rush the ball as easily as last week with Donald lurking behind the defensive line. Like normal, expect them to set up the run with the pass, run it a bunch, and then go deep off of some play action looks. They will however, find their wide receivers open plenty of times in Toledo's 103rd ranked pass defense. Boise State will need to force some turnovers and capitalize off of them in order to win in the way that they are expected to. I am looking for/hoping that interceptions become plentiful for the Broncos. As long as Coach Pete continues to prepare himself and his players the same way he always does, this should be a convincing victory for Boise State.
Prediction: Broncos 45, Rockets 12
Overall record: 18-5
Bonus pick:
Saturday, October 9 at 1:30 PM
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I won't say much other than this is a trap game for Alabama. After a physical contest against Florida last week, the Crimson Tide is at its most vulnerable and has to travel to Columbia to take on a ranked Gamecock squad. I know that Alabama looks unbeatable, but the SEC is tough week in and week out. I do not think that they will play as well as they have been so far this season, and South Carolina will hope to take advantage of that. If the Gamecocks play the game of their lives, capitalize off of Crimson Tide mistakes, and don't make any of their own, they can win this game. I feel like I'm going out on a limb here a little bit, but the circumstances are right for the top ranked team to take a dive.
Upset Special!
Prediction: Gamecocks 21, Crimson Tide 17
That is it for this week! Make sure you come back tomorrow and see who I choose as my Weekly Player to Watch!
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