In a week that will see several high profile games, Miami/OU, Cal/USC, and LSU/UGA, this is one of the weekends that will separate the wheat from the chaff.
Is Oklahoma a national contender if Bradford isn't in the pocket? Miami has a defense that is much more talented than the cupcakes OU has faced lately. The last time OU say a pressure defense was against BYU, and Landry Jones threw for a mere 51 yards in the second half of that game. That said, Miami's defense, or secondary to be more precise, was exposed by FSU and later on by VT. If OU wants to continue on a trend towards a NC push, then the defense has to step up, and stuff Jacroy Harris, well either that or it needs to rain in Florida. If OU can keep constant pressure on Harris, and Jones can develop some sort of passing game with good protection up front, OU should be able to close this game out.
Is USC on the ropes, or is California really an over-hyped team. Cal was getting all the love going into their game against Oregon, and well let's just say they didn't bring their "Best." USC has a defense that literally eats people on the front wall. If USC can get enough push up frontand stop Best from hitting the corners, Cal could be in for a long game. However, if USC's offense continues to sputter along, Cal could keep this game close, and a close game at Pasedena really has to lean in the home team's favor.
Finally we come to UGA and LSU. LSU has been painted as the ugly duckling in the Top5, and considering how they've played, the nickname is well deserved. Yet equally perplexing is the UGA squad. A team that blew up on offense, but can also get blown out on defense. Their only loss coming against an ever-looking-better-squad at the Real USC, has UGA looking for it's own identity. LSU has stifled offenses for the most part, but has struggled at times to piece together meaningful drives to put pressure on opposing offenses. LSU has an exposed running game, and their defense likes to give up yards through the air. If Joe Cox is on his game, and the O-line is able to get some pocket protection for him, expect UGA to score some points. However, LSU has the secondary that can stifle UGA's passing game, and force UGA to the ground game. Either way, look for UGA to score some points quickly, and with LSU unable to maintain late drives, UGA will pull out a squeaker in Athens.
LSU will force Georgia to run which they can't do this year, LSU will go down early in the first half only to come back int he second half and win by a late field goal.
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