Week 3
Of The College
Football Season!
Well if last weekend's college football-watching wasn't exciting enough
with several near losses, near wins and a football coach down on the field (well-wishes to Minnesota's Coach Kill),
we'll see what this week brings!
Am still looking for more Guest Commentators...are you a fan or know a fan of a team not represented? Check at the end of this post for information on how to guest commentate.
A hearty blue and white shout-out to
new commentator Wakow, a big Penn State fan.
Welcome aboard and we look forward to reading your perspectives on JoPa and his Nittany Lions!
Grab your Hot Chocolate
if you're in the 50 degree Midwest
or your Iced Tea
if you're in 100 degree Texas
and
let's see what fans are predicting this week...
with several near losses, near wins and a football coach down on the field (well-wishes to Minnesota's Coach Kill),
we'll see what this week brings!
Am still looking for more Guest Commentators...are you a fan or know a fan of a team not represented? Check at the end of this post for information on how to guest commentate.
A hearty blue and white shout-out to
new commentator Wakow, a big Penn State fan.
Welcome aboard and we look forward to reading your perspectives on JoPa and his Nittany Lions!
Grab your Hot Chocolate
if you're in the 50 degree Midwest
or your Iced Tea
if you're in 100 degree Texas
and
let's see what fans are predicting this week...
Big 10
IOWA:
Silver Fox: Here's my thoughts for week 3. But, going back to the previous week 2---of course I was disappointed. The inexperience and the number of underclassmen playing for the Hawkeyes were very evident. And Iowa State played well after the first quarter. Plus, they were at home. Iowa's defense was close to making tackles in the Iowa State's backfield, but just didn't quite finish most of the time. I can't fault them for lack of effort. And during the 13 seasons of Coach Ferentz's tenure (with Norm Parker as defensive coordinator), I don't recall an Iowa defense blitzing and rushing into the opponent's backfield as much as this year's team so far. So don't stop this strategy now. Eventually the defense will begin to make the necessary stops. Especially after reading where Mike Daniels felt like he let the team down, and as a senior he vowed to do better as should be a leader on defense. With better focus will come better effort. This defense has the athletes. As for the offense, it helped that Marcus Coker played better. It would help if the running plays didn't take so long to develop, allowing the other team's defense (i.e. their linebackers) to focus on getting to our ball carrier. Vanderburg was inconsistent passing. I have to admit, though, I didn't know he was able to run with the ball so well.
As concerns, this week's game against Pitt; I expect the Hawks to do better and win, and maybe win in a big way. Pitt has played 2 games against weaker competion so far.
Black And Gold Girl: I expect Iowa to do well coming off of last week's disappointment. The game against Pittsburgh will help them regain their footing and hopefully get some confidence back. What we learned last week is that having an all-star receiver like McNutt can't save games for us, especially if the passes aren't accurate. We'll need to step it up to the next level on both offense and defense, I think a lot of times last year the defense would be extraordinary when the offense was less than and vice versa. Look for them to improve - Go Hawks!
Hawk Guy:
Hawkinator:
Turnkey Tim: To say last week's game was a disappointment would be an understatement. We've been down this road before. My biggest concern is coaching. We are the easiest team to game plan for. Not going for it on 4th and 1 and not going for the field goal with 1 min 17 left in the 4th quarter and two time outs left, playing for overtime. Reminds me of Ohio State 2009. Yes, we lost that one too. Iowa State punted two times all day. Two times! If we could not stop them from scoring, then not gonna happen in overtime when everyone on defense is worn down. When we kicked the field goal in overtime, game over. There were some positives. Our field goal kicker was 4 for 4 with one from 50 yards. Keenan Davis had a good game at wide receiver. The thing we have seen Ferentz's teams do in the past is bounce back from tough losses. This week's game is huge for the Hawks to have a successful season. I won't throw in the towel yet. If the offense improves and has a good game, Hawks win. Bottom line, look for a more determined Hawkeye team this week. If we make necessary adjustments on defense, improve kicking team coverage and crank up the Metallica coming out of the tunnel along with the rabid home crown chanting "Lets go Hawks", Iowa wins 24-14.
MINNESOTA:
Ace: Well this will be a bit short as I am trying to get ready to leave for Austin Texas for the 10th annual ACL festival, sorry i missed last week but I was fishin. Speakin of fishin the Gophers will be fishin for their first win of the season against Miami of Ohio. More importantly Coach Kill is expected to be on the sidelines after suffering a seizure during the end of last weeks loss to New Mexico State. Really New Mexico State? Look for the Gophers to pull out a win after admitting that they overlooked the Aggies after almost beating perrenial power USC. Time will tell if the Gophers are going to develop into a better team but first they need to resolve their Quarterback issue. Well talk to ya'll next week. Stay Cool Currently 56 degress in Iowa City and 100 degrees in Austin. Hope the beer is cold.
OHIO STATE:
Buck-I: This week we'll probably see another close game but not so sure which will come out on top. On the defensive side, Nathan Williams is out for a month with an injury which will mean a redshirt freshman will be starting in his place. On the offensive side, Jordan Hall is back from being suspended and could be starting at tailback. He has more experience running & catching the ball which could help quite a bit. The Huricanes have players coming off of suspensions as well. Will they be rusty? We will have to wait and see. Miami runs a more NFL style offense which could be better for the OSU defense. After last weeks game with Toledo, the offense and defense looked a little more shaky than they did against Akron. I would expect, if Bauserman struggles early it could be Braxton Miller time. This game could go either way but I don't expect a blowout. GO BUCKS!!!
MICHIGAN:
A'maize'n Blue:
NEBRASKA:
Bo Big Red: Playing against the HUSKIES this weekend,and yes they beat us in the Holiday Bowl, last year ,but just like FRESNO STATE ,the claim anyone and anywher at anytime ,except at MEMORIAL STADIUM in LINCOLN NEBRASKA ,evedently !!! I'm not saying we played well ,and yes we have a lot of youngen's on are team,can you imagine in 2 more years.We will be unstoppable!!! The Huskers have an axe to grind with losing the holiday bowl,and no one comes in our house and wins !!!! NEBRASKA by 2 touch downs and the BLACK SHIRTS will play both halves this game. BO BIG RED.
WISCONSIN:
Wisconsin Steve: Wisconsin Steve signing in.
Predictions are as follows: Badger quarterback passing 1 1/2 gaines 24 of 27. 355 yards, 5 TDS - 0 INT. Now let's expand on the new Soldier Field. It looks like an alien in my opinion. Worst job EVER. Back to the Badgers.....I predict that they are not only going to smoke but ignite fire! As to my brother in law......I predict that the Hawks are going to come on blazin this weekend. They were impressive last week even with the three overtimes they endured. I know our Badgers are born from the loins of the Hawks............but brother......let the games begin! Signing out......... Wisconsin Steve
PENN STATE:
Wakow: Penn State looks to rebound from a tough loss to Alabama last week with big game against the well improved Temple Owls. The Owls, an in state rival, have a legitimate running game, but Penn State's defense should handle it with ease. With Bolden shoring up his place as Penn State's 2011 QB showing leadership and significant improvement as he
moved the ball down field against a stingy Alabama defense (Penn State's only scoring drives of the game) the Owls will be left on their heels for most of the game. Look for a Big win for the Lions. Prediction: Penn State 35. Owls 6
Bill's Big 10 Corner:
Bill: The Big 10 was 7-5 this past weekend with Minnesota, Indiana, Iowa, Penn St and Purdue suffering the loses. My "game ball" goes to the QB's from Iowa St and Michigan for big come back wins.
Challenging Big 10 games this week:
Pittsburgh at Iowa - Can Iowa recover from the ISU loss? Although as we can see Iowa has a young team, I think the home crowd will be the difference and the Hawks win.
Miami, Oh at Minnesota - Have to go with Miami in this one until Minnesota shows me a win.
Arz St at Illinois - Illinois could be a surprise team this year. I'll take em.
Mich St at Notre Dame - Notre Dame to start 0-3, why not.
Ohio State at Miami, Fla - Ohio St struggled with Toledo, I am going to take the Hurricanes in this one. Look ahead to next week: Colorado at Ohio St (everyone else taking it easy prior to the start of conference play).
IOWA:
Silver Fox: Here's my thoughts for week 3. But, going back to the previous week 2---of course I was disappointed. The inexperience and the number of underclassmen playing for the Hawkeyes were very evident. And Iowa State played well after the first quarter. Plus, they were at home. Iowa's defense was close to making tackles in the Iowa State's backfield, but just didn't quite finish most of the time. I can't fault them for lack of effort. And during the 13 seasons of Coach Ferentz's tenure (with Norm Parker as defensive coordinator), I don't recall an Iowa defense blitzing and rushing into the opponent's backfield as much as this year's team so far. So don't stop this strategy now. Eventually the defense will begin to make the necessary stops. Especially after reading where Mike Daniels felt like he let the team down, and as a senior he vowed to do better as should be a leader on defense. With better focus will come better effort. This defense has the athletes. As for the offense, it helped that Marcus Coker played better. It would help if the running plays didn't take so long to develop, allowing the other team's defense (i.e. their linebackers) to focus on getting to our ball carrier. Vanderburg was inconsistent passing. I have to admit, though, I didn't know he was able to run with the ball so well.
As concerns, this week's game against Pitt; I expect the Hawks to do better and win, and maybe win in a big way. Pitt has played 2 games against weaker competion so far.
Black And Gold Girl: I expect Iowa to do well coming off of last week's disappointment. The game against Pittsburgh will help them regain their footing and hopefully get some confidence back. What we learned last week is that having an all-star receiver like McNutt can't save games for us, especially if the passes aren't accurate. We'll need to step it up to the next level on both offense and defense, I think a lot of times last year the defense would be extraordinary when the offense was less than and vice versa. Look for them to improve - Go Hawks!
Hawk Guy:
Hawkinator:
Turnkey Tim: To say last week's game was a disappointment would be an understatement. We've been down this road before. My biggest concern is coaching. We are the easiest team to game plan for. Not going for it on 4th and 1 and not going for the field goal with 1 min 17 left in the 4th quarter and two time outs left, playing for overtime. Reminds me of Ohio State 2009. Yes, we lost that one too. Iowa State punted two times all day. Two times! If we could not stop them from scoring, then not gonna happen in overtime when everyone on defense is worn down. When we kicked the field goal in overtime, game over. There were some positives. Our field goal kicker was 4 for 4 with one from 50 yards. Keenan Davis had a good game at wide receiver. The thing we have seen Ferentz's teams do in the past is bounce back from tough losses. This week's game is huge for the Hawks to have a successful season. I won't throw in the towel yet. If the offense improves and has a good game, Hawks win. Bottom line, look for a more determined Hawkeye team this week. If we make necessary adjustments on defense, improve kicking team coverage and crank up the Metallica coming out of the tunnel along with the rabid home crown chanting "Lets go Hawks", Iowa wins 24-14.
MINNESOTA:
Ace: Well this will be a bit short as I am trying to get ready to leave for Austin Texas for the 10th annual ACL festival, sorry i missed last week but I was fishin. Speakin of fishin the Gophers will be fishin for their first win of the season against Miami of Ohio. More importantly Coach Kill is expected to be on the sidelines after suffering a seizure during the end of last weeks loss to New Mexico State. Really New Mexico State? Look for the Gophers to pull out a win after admitting that they overlooked the Aggies after almost beating perrenial power USC. Time will tell if the Gophers are going to develop into a better team but first they need to resolve their Quarterback issue. Well talk to ya'll next week. Stay Cool Currently 56 degress in Iowa City and 100 degrees in Austin. Hope the beer is cold.
OHIO STATE:
Buck-I: This week we'll probably see another close game but not so sure which will come out on top. On the defensive side, Nathan Williams is out for a month with an injury which will mean a redshirt freshman will be starting in his place. On the offensive side, Jordan Hall is back from being suspended and could be starting at tailback. He has more experience running & catching the ball which could help quite a bit. The Huricanes have players coming off of suspensions as well. Will they be rusty? We will have to wait and see. Miami runs a more NFL style offense which could be better for the OSU defense. After last weeks game with Toledo, the offense and defense looked a little more shaky than they did against Akron. I would expect, if Bauserman struggles early it could be Braxton Miller time. This game could go either way but I don't expect a blowout. GO BUCKS!!!
MICHIGAN:
A'maize'n Blue:
NEBRASKA:
Bo Big Red: Playing against the HUSKIES this weekend,and yes they beat us in the Holiday Bowl, last year ,but just like FRESNO STATE ,the claim anyone and anywher at anytime ,except at MEMORIAL STADIUM in LINCOLN NEBRASKA ,evedently !!! I'm not saying we played well ,and yes we have a lot of youngen's on are team,can you imagine in 2 more years.We will be unstoppable!!! The Huskers have an axe to grind with losing the holiday bowl,and no one comes in our house and wins !!!! NEBRASKA by 2 touch downs and the BLACK SHIRTS will play both halves this game. BO BIG RED.
WISCONSIN:
Wisconsin Steve: Wisconsin Steve signing in.
Predictions are as follows: Badger quarterback passing 1 1/2 gaines 24 of 27. 355 yards, 5 TDS - 0 INT. Now let's expand on the new Soldier Field. It looks like an alien in my opinion. Worst job EVER. Back to the Badgers.....I predict that they are not only going to smoke but ignite fire! As to my brother in law......I predict that the Hawks are going to come on blazin this weekend. They were impressive last week even with the three overtimes they endured. I know our Badgers are born from the loins of the Hawks............but brother......let the games begin! Signing out......... Wisconsin Steve
PENN STATE:
Wakow: Penn State looks to rebound from a tough loss to Alabama last week with big game against the well improved Temple Owls. The Owls, an in state rival, have a legitimate running game, but Penn State's defense should handle it with ease. With Bolden shoring up his place as Penn State's 2011 QB showing leadership and significant improvement as he
moved the ball down field against a stingy Alabama defense (Penn State's only scoring drives of the game) the Owls will be left on their heels for most of the game. Look for a Big win for the Lions. Prediction: Penn State 35. Owls 6
Bill's Big 10 Corner:
Bill: The Big 10 was 7-5 this past weekend with Minnesota, Indiana, Iowa, Penn St and Purdue suffering the loses. My "game ball" goes to the QB's from Iowa St and Michigan for big come back wins.
Challenging Big 10 games this week:
Pittsburgh at Iowa - Can Iowa recover from the ISU loss? Although as we can see Iowa has a young team, I think the home crowd will be the difference and the Hawks win.
Miami, Oh at Minnesota - Have to go with Miami in this one until Minnesota shows me a win.
Arz St at Illinois - Illinois could be a surprise team this year. I'll take em.
Mich St at Notre Dame - Notre Dame to start 0-3, why not.
Ohio State at Miami, Fla - Ohio St struggled with Toledo, I am going to take the Hurricanes in this one. Look ahead to next week: Colorado at Ohio St (everyone else taking it easy prior to the start of conference play).
Big 12
TEXAS:
Bevo Jr. Texas (2-0)may have turned a corner last week against Brigham Young – finally substituting at QB instead of allowing the ‘experienced’starter to repeatedly throw interceptions until everyone in the stadium is smacking themselves in the forehead, “like WTF?” Case McCoy (yes he’s Colts lil bro) and David Ash almost immediately changed the complexion of the game and started moving the chains. It was openly apparent that the whole team lit up and started playing like Longhorns, including the Defense. The freshmen (Ash, McCoy, Malcom Brown,& Jaxson Shipley) brought us from behind to a 17 – 16 win. Not overpowering, but good things start to happen when you can fight back from behind. Garrett Gilbert has a great arm but he ‘laser stares’ who he’s throwing the ball to, hence multiple picks. Hopefully the UT coaches can break him of that deadly habit. If they can, watch out! He could be a real gunslinger.
This week UT goes to Rose Bowl Stadium to play UCLA, who lays down for everybody else they play but saves their best for whenever they play Texas, like the last 3 times we’ve played (where’s the respect?). It’s time to solve this riddle! With LA’s seeming obsession for appearance, status, and credit card debt, Texas should be able to out-football them just once while they’re sucking on their orange slices and checking out the Malibu tide schedules.
We’ll have to score lotsa points because the Bruins have shown some prolific offense. The good news for Texas is that defense is not UCLA’s strength; maybe the naïve youth of the ‘Horns won’t have paid attention to the history of thrashings we’ve suffered at the hands of these LA surfer dudes. Time to Rodeo Up all you steer wrestlers, bronc riders and ‘mutton busters’! It’s our turn.
Look for heavy doses of Malcom Brown, Mike Davis, Marquis Goodwin, and of course Cody Johnson in the Red Zone.
HORNS-34, Bruins-28. HOOK “EM.
OKLAHOMA STATE:
Boone's Boy: Well, the upcoming opponent this week is Tulsa which the Cowboys punished 65-28 last year. Weeden (QB) and Blackmon (WR) are the top duo in the country and have helped the Cowboys rack up 1,260 yards from scrimmage this season (#1 in FBS). This will be the Pokes final chance to iron out the wrinkles before their showdown with Texas A&M next week. Prediction 56 – 21. Weeden 400 yards passing, Blackmon 150 yards receiving, and Randle 130 yards rushing. Tulsa does have a pretty explosive offense and they will have the ability to score at least 3 TD’s so the Pokes will need to continue to light up the scoreboard in order to stay unbeaten.
TEXAS A&M:
Hullabaloo: The Fighting Texas Aggies are back in action after a looong two-week layoff. It's the last preseason game as the Ags welcome the mighty Idaho Vandals.
Things I'll be looking for in this game: 1) The Aggies to cover the 5 touchdown point-spread. 2) Sr DE Tony Jerod-Eddie to build on his dominating 3 sack performance against SMU. 3) Somebody to step up at inside linebacker - The Mustangs got us pretty good on the ground in the 1st half of that game. 4) The secondary to make plays like they did against SMU but to avoid the mental mistakes that led to the 14 points given up. 5) The offense to keep executing and develop into the juggernaut that it can be.
My Prediction: 51 - 7. Farmers Fight!
Pac-12
COLORADO:
Buffalo Up:
UTAH:
Red 5 Standing By:
COLORADO:
Buffalo Up:
UTAH:
Red 5 Standing By:
A Very BIG
Thank You
To The Guest
Commentators!!!
Check back throughout today as
commentary comes in!
Would Love To Have Volunteer Fan Commentators From:
Big 10
Illinois
Michigan state
Purdue
Northwestern
Indiana
Penn State - Wakow on the line for this one
Big 12
Have Texas and Oklahoma State, Texas A&M...how about Oklahoma, Iowa State etc
Pac-12
Any fans out there? I have Colorado and Utah covered, how about other team fans?
Independent team fans?
Open to suggestions, Notre Dame? etc :)
Email me (Angie) at [email protected]
or comment on this here post with your email. Thanks!
