Every week in college football, there are exciting match ups all across the country. From local rivalry games to ranked teams playing, there is always some thrilling game taking place. This weekend is of no exception, as one of the biggest games of the season takes place, with the number one ranked LSU Tigers taking on the number two ranked Alabama Crimson Tide. It isn’t often where the top two teams play late in the season, as this game proves to be the most important regular season game in college football since in 2006, where the number one ranked Ohio State Buckeyes played the number two ranked Michigan Wolverines in the final game of the regular season. Here’s some highlights from their matchup last season:
The winner of the LSU Alabama game has a direct road towards the national championship. They will be the clear number one ranked team, and as long as the winner wins out the rest of their campaign, they will stay number one and end up playing for the BCS championship.
This game isn’t exactly a rivalry game, although the two teams do regularly play each other, almost every year. As it is a conference game it has a huge impact on the conference championship for the SEC. The SEC has won the national championship for the past several years, with both LSU and Alabama claiming one championship. With a win, one of these two teams take a step closer.
The Florida State Seminoles (5-3, 3-2), who seem to be on an unstoppable mission, will try and elongate their 3 game winning streak this Thursday against Boston College (2-6, 1-4 ACC). This game will commence the start of a challenging schedule for Florida State. Boston College, who has always been tough to beat by Florida State, needs to start winning in order to earn a bowl bid this season. The all-time series winning edge between these two teams belongs to FSU (5-4). This Chestnut Hill, Mass. matchup of these two titan football teams will be one very interesting matchup. Here are some highlights from their matchup last year:
BC’s Chase Rettig, who has a QB rating of 107, has to find some consistency in his passing. If only Chase Rettig can find the same consistency he had in BC’s season opener against Northwestern where he passed for 351 yards. Rettig has some great receivers in Bobby Swigert and Colin Larmond to help propel BC’s young offense. Roland Finch, who was named ACC offensive back of the week, is BC’s secret weapon. His 39 rushes for 243 yards and 2 touchdowns against Maryland earned him a third place record in BC history. This 5’10′ 209 pound steamroller is the key to Boston College winning. The Eagles can take control of FSU if Finch and backup RB Andre Williams can come out and … Continue reading →
Undefeated Stanford has another test this weekend as they travel to USC. Stanford, currently ranked No. 6 in the BCS poll, needs to win out to have any hope of making it to the national title game. USC, currently ranked No. 20 by the AP Poll, is still on probation and won’t be going anywhere. The Trojans (6-1, 3-1 PAC-12) would like nothing better than to defend their home turf while knocking the Cardinal out of the national title chase.
Stanford, led by O’Brien award semi-finalist and leading Heisman candidateAndrew Luck, has a powerful offense that is currently ranked third among FBS teams. Luck has thrown for 20 touchdowns this season. His completion percentage to date is 71.8% and he’s only been intercepted 3 times. The Cardinal’s Power I offense is a balanced one, with 1,993 passing and 1,536 rushing yards. Starting tailback Stepfan Taylor is a solid Pac-12 performer, but fans can expect to see plenty of backup Tyler Gaffney. Both averaged over 13 yards per carry against Washington last week. Luck is considered by many to be the best quarterback in college football. He will be leading his team against a USC defense that is ranked fifth in the PAC-12 in total defense. However, the Trojans have proven, most recently against Notre Dame, that they can stop the run. They are … Continue reading →
Oklahoma at Kansas State: Respect and Big 12 Title on the line. Eighth ranked Kansas State is looking for a big conference win against ninth ranked Oklahoma this Saturday in Manhattan, Kansas. Kansas State comes into this match-up undefeated (7-0, 4-0 Big 12), but has played against only one team, Texas Tech, that is currently ranked in the top 25 in any of the major polls. They will play a ranked opponent each of the next four weeks, starting with Oklahoma, so the Wildcats will have plenty of chances to earn national respect and move up the polls. After Oklahoma, they will travel to play Oklahoma State, come back home to host Texas A & M, and then hit the road again to play the Texas Longhorns.
The Sooners are looking to bounce back after their 39 game home winning streak came to a shocking end against the Texas Tech Red Raiders last week. Oklahoma’s loss may have, at least for the moment, derailed their BCS National Championship aspirations, but a win against Kansas State will keep them in the hunt for a Big 12 championship and a BCS Bowl.
For Oklahoma to win, their defense will need to prove that they are better than what they showed last week, when they allowed Texas Tech to walk up and down the field at will, accumulating a grand total of 572 yards of offense. Unlike Texas Tech, Kansas State features a quarterback, junior Collin Klein, who is more productive running the ball than passing. This may help Oklahoma’s defense get back on track; Oklahoma is allowing only 3.14 yards per rush on the season.
Led by Klein and sophomore running back John Hubert, Kansas State is averaging 214 rushing yards per game, which is good enough for third best in the Big 12 Conference.
When number 11 Michigan State travel to Lincoln to take on number 14 Nebraska on Saturday, October 25 one thing is assured – big plays on both side of the football will be plentiful. Both teams boast premier quarterbacks, matching the arm of Michigan State’s Kirk Cousins against Nebraska’s Taylor Martinez who is better recognized for his scrambling ability, but still a proficient passer.
Michigan State comes to Nebraska following a miracle finish in defeating Wisconsin 37-31, all but eliminating Wisconsin’s hopes of a national title. Michigan State is currently 6-1 overall and 3-0 in the Big Ten Legends Division with their only blemish a 31-13 loss at Notre Dame.
Nebraska enters the game at 6-1 also, and posts a 2-1 record in the Big Ten Legends Division with a 48-17 loss to Wisconsin earlier this season. For Nebraska this game is critical if they have any hopes of winning the Big Ten, because a loss to Michigan State … Continue reading →
Both BYU and TCU are coming off convincing wins last week, BYU drubbing Idaho State 56 -3 and TCU annihilating winless New Mexico 69 – 0. However, this week the task for each team is much more daunting. The Cougars and Horned Frogs have met ten times previously, and the record is tied with five wins for each in the series. The Frog’s convincing 31-3 win over the Cougars last year in Fort Worth, TX is on the minds of both teams as they prepare for Saturday’s game. Here are some highlights from last year’s matchup:
BYU had a slow start this season, with inconsistent play plaguing the Cougars. In each of the first three games, BYU had one good half and one mediocre to poor half. However, they’ve been improving, and in their past two contests, BYU has pulled off complete games, playing well all four quarters. However, those games were against weaker opponents than TCU, so this weekend will be a good test for the Cougars.
One of the game-changers has been Riley Nelson stepping in as quarterback during the Utah State game, and staying there since. He’s followed in the BYU tradition of throwing, with … Continue reading →
While most people will have their eyes on Stanford’s quarterback Andrew Luck, another quarterback is also shining bright in the Pac-12 Washington’s Keith Price. When No.25 Washington visits No.8 Stanford this weekend, you will have a showcase of two of the better quarterbacks in college football. Most people have heard of Stanford’s Andrew Luck, but many have not heard about Washington’s Keith Price who has thrown the second most touchdown passes in the country. Which quarterback will win this battle? Let us take a closer look at both teams and see how they match up. Here are some highlights from their matchup last year:
Washington is rated 25th in the country and boasts a 5-1 record with a 3-0 record in the Pac-12 there only loss coming to Nebraska 51-38. The key to the Washington’s offense has been sophomore quarterback Keith Price who has 21 touchdown passes and just four interceptions. He has the Huskies off to their best start in 10 years and Huskie fans could not be happier. Washington is averaging around 37 points a game. The Huskies junior running back Chris Polk is having another banner year with over 700 yards rushing and a 5.4 average. Running the ball against Stanford will be tough though as the boast the Continue reading →
Within NCAA football, there are numerous rivalry games every year. Some of these include Texas vs. Texas Tech, California vs. Stanford, and Army vs. Navy. At the top of every college football fan’s rivalry game list is the annual game between Notre Dame and USC. Here are some highlights from their matchup last year:
This storied rivalry game has been played annually since 1926 and the winner each year is presented with a trophy called the Jeweled Shillelagh. The most notable game occurred in 2005 when unbeaten and No. 1 USC scored on a last second quarterback sneak by Matt Leinert with an assist from Heisman Trophy running back Reggie Bush.
USC has dominated the series in the last 8 years, winning every game since 2002 except for the game in 2010. With the departure of USC coach Pete Carroll to the NFL Seattle Seahawks, USC football is not as feared as in the past.
New coach Lane Kiffin has done an admirable job with the Trojans this year, given that the Trojan football program has been sanctioned by the NCAA. The NCAA last year levied a two year post-season bowl ban, probation for Continue reading →
This will be a game to be remembered as the likely final matchup of the West Virginia Mountaineers take on the Syracuse Orange. Friday night will be the 59th meeting of these two titans due to Syracuse’s probable move to the ACC in the near future and the probable invite of West Virginia to the Big 12. Although Syracuse leads in all time wins against West Virginia 31-27, this will be a battle royal. Here are some highlights from their matchup last year:
West Virginia’s first year coach Dana Holgorsen, with a 5 and 1 record this season will try to work some of his magic on Syracuse’s coach Doug Marrone, who is 4-2 this season with the Orange. The Mountaineers rocket QB, Geno Smith, will putting on a sure fire spectacle with running back Dustin Garrison paving the field and receivers Ivan Mcartney and Stedman Baily performing their usual aerial displays . Though the mountaineers running game was somewhat lack luster 2 weeks ago against UConn, their passing game was reminiscent of Joe Montana’s Fransisco 49ers of old as Geno threw for 450 yards and 4 touchdowns. With the number 4 ranked passing game at 380 yards per game and a 503.5 Continue reading →
Even though the No.6 Wisconsin Badgers have rolled over everyone this season the No. 16 Michigan State Spartans will try to rain on the Badgers Parade. Most people have Wisconsin as the favorite in the Big Ten, as they have rolled up some very impressive numbers. For Michigan State, they have just one loss and that was to Note Dame, and is coming off a huge win against rival Michigan. Let us break down Wisconsin vs. Michigan State, which looks to be a game for the ages. Here’s some highlights from their matchup last year:
In this game, you have one of the most powerful offenses in the country in the Badgers going up against a Michigan State defense that is ranked No.2 in total defense. Sparty has only given up around seven points a game and that has helped them get to where they are. The defense will need to play a stellar game and slow down Wisconsin’s Quarterback Russell Wilson and the Badgers running game. Look for the Spartans to put eight in the box and rely on their coverage to keep the Badgers at bay.
Last week Michigan State was able to run the ball to a tune of 213 yards against Michigan. They will need to do that again and will Continue reading →
