Week 5 Preview

September 29, 2009

Week 4 saw another top 5 team go down in No. 4 Ole Miss and three others in the top 10 lose as well (No. 5 Penn State, No. 6 California, and No. 9 Miami).

Week 5 doesn’t host as great of matchups that the past four weeks have included, but there are a couple big games to look forward to and some others to keep an eye on.

So October 3rd will be another Saturday of watching college football and changing channels to the next game on every commercial break.

Note: The top two teams in the country: Texas and Florida are off in Week 5. No. 3 Alabama plays at Kentucky. Florida beat the Wildcats 41-7, the Tide might pick up some more votes with a bigger win. Texas plays Colorado on October 10 before they get ready for the showdown with Oklahoma on the 17th while Florida has what could be the biggest game of the year in Baton Rouge against LSU on the 10th.

Updates on the Injury Front:
Baylor sophomore QB Robert Griffin will be out for the rest of the season with a torn ACL in right knee
South Florida senior QB Matt Grothe will be out for the rest o the season with a torn ACL in right knee. The career of the Big East Conference’s All-Time Leader in yards gained came to a sudden end. Grothe’s one of my all-time favorites.
Florida senior QB Tim Tebow suffered a concussion in the win over Kentucky
USC senior RB Stafon Johnson underwent throat surgery after dropping the bar for bench press on his throat and is out for the season.
Alabama sophomore LB Dante Hightower will be out for the rest of the season with a torn ACL in left knee
Oklahoma junior QB Sam Bradford is making progress in his recovery from a sprained AC joint in his throwing shoulder. Bradford is expected to be ready for the Texas-OU game.

Games to watch in College Football’s Week 5
Wednesday Night Football: Hawaii (2-1) at Louisiana Tech (1-2) 8pm on ESPN2
Hawaii obviously has not been the same in the post-Colt Brennan era yet they stand at a respectable 2-1 as they and La Tech both begin their WAC schedules. Tech's played some big teams in the first two weeks losing to Auburn and Navy before beating Nicholls State 48-13 on the 19th.
Both these teams are coming off bye weeks. Hawaii has the same old run-n-gun offense with Greg Alexander back at QB, but the transition of Keoaloha Pilares from runningback to receiver has taken away all of Hawaii's run game. Pilares is the one big playmaker the Warriors have on that squad, but the plays he's making by catching the ball are still a big part of the offense. Pilares had 13 catches for 146 yards in his last game and has already passed his season highs in receptions from the past two years.

Thursday Night Football: Colorado (1-2) at West Virginia (2-1) 7:30 on ESPN
Both these teams haven't played since the 19th. I have yet to see Colorado play live or break down highlights from them so I don't know much about their defense and if they've made any improvements. West Virginia ran all over the Buffaloes last year as Pat White and Noel Devine both ran for about 140 yards apiece. Colorado did beat WVU 17-14 in overtime though in one last season's early upsets.
This years West Virginia team can still be a contender in the Big East without Pat White, but Colorado? You kinda feel for them because they have the toughest remaining schedule of any team without high expectations. I would not be surprised if Colorado loses 8 of its next 9 games and that'll be the end Coach Dan Hawkins' job. There's no better outlook, this Colorado team lost to Colorado State and gave up 54 points in a loss to Toledo. Seriously? Those performances were garbage. Now Colorado will try to avoid embarrassment on national tv. We'll be watching.

Friday Night Football: Pittsburgh (3-1) at Louisville (1-2) 8pm on ESPN2
Pittsburgh lost a tough one against NC State Saturday in which they allowed 21 unanswered points in the later stages of the game to let the win slip away and lose it 38-31. Louisville just lost 30-14 to Utah and before that 31-27 in a shootout against Kentucky. Key word: shootout. Louisville's a one dimensional offense and lacks defense that's needed to tame the offenses of the Big East like Cincinnati. It's another year where Louisville is irrelevant in conference.

Saturday
Clemson (2-2) at Maryland (1-3) 12pm
The headline in The Star Democrat read “TERPS JUST TERRIBLE.” That’s the local newspaper saying that about its own team. Maryland looked horrendous in their 34-13 loss to Rutgers Saturday and coach Ralph Friedgen’s seat has never been hotter (I wouldn’t be surprised if the Terps already contacted Jeff Jagodzinski about a coaching vacancy). But, this is a Maryland team that has some potential and a reputation of knocking off better teams (while losing to the ones they’re supposed to beat). Clemson just went through a hard fought defensive game that they lost 14-10 to 11th-ranked TCU. But here’s the thing, we all know that Clemson’s football team tends to not “show up” on some games and the Tigers have put together a reputation of not playing well unless they’re on national tv, which they’re not. The game will be broadcasted on ESPNU which is not available in every home. Then again, not playing well might be well enough to win against Maryland.

No. 22 Michigan (4-0) at Michigan State (1-3) 12pm
Tate Forcier suffered a shoulder injury in last week’s win against Indiana but Rich Rodriguez announced today (Sep. 28) that Forcier will start against Michigan State. For those of you that missed it, Forcier did come back in the game to lead Michigan on the winning score in the 4th quarter. If Forcier can’t go, Michigan always has Denard Robinson who they shuffle in and out and junior Nick Sheridan who’s the more traditional pocket passer, but after watching Robinson get a chance to make some throws on Saturday, I’ll be willing to put the full quarterbacking duties on his shoulders.
Michigan State on the other hand, they’re a coming off a tough loss to Wisconsin. Many picked the Spartans as the big sleeper in the Big Ten and they need this win to possibly stay relevant in the conference. The team is still reloading and trying out some things on offense, but they have do have big play ability as we saw on Keshawn Martin’s 91 yard touchdown reception.
Not to mention, both of these teams have non-existent defenses.
And the refs gave the game to Michigan last week.

Wisconsin (4-0) at Minnesota (3-1) 12pm
Minnesota and Wisconsin are both sitting pretty atop the Big Ten with Ohio State and Iowa. Wisconsin’s coming off a 38-30 win over Michigan State while Minnesota beat Northwestern. The thing that the Gophers have that the Spartans don’t, is experience against a team like California. People are starting to get high on Wisconsin and putting them in their top 25’s or getting close to it, but Minnesota wins this game outright, no competition. My only concern is that Minnesota doesn’t have enough offensive weapons to go with star receiver Eric Decker. Adam Weber completed 15 passes to what, was it only three different receivers last week? Minnesota needs some more playmakers to step up and complement Decker.

No. 4 LSU (4-0) at No. 18 Georgia (3-1) 3:30 pm
Big matchup here in the SEC. LSU is into the top five with the game against Florida next week looming and they might get caught looking ahead while Georgia’s looking ahead to Tennessee. Both these teams are coming off close wins and both are still trying to get help from their defenses. LSU got a spark from free safety Chad Jones in the near upset to Mississippi State. Miss St had four chances to punch the ball into the endzone at the end of the game and upset LSU, but Jones stuffed the Bulldogs on 4th down to preserve the 30-26 win. Not to mention that it was Jones’s 93 yard touchdown return that gave LSU the lead.
Georgia needed a Blair Walsh field goal as time expired to beat Arizona State 20-17.
I’m still looking for a solid run game from both teams. Caleb King is healthy for Georgia but platooning with Richard Samuel isn’t going to well. I watched King in spring ball and haven’t seen much of Samuel yet, but I’ve seen King’s ability to make plays and I’d want him to get twenty touches a game. LSU needs to get on track with their run game, Charles Scott, Keiland Williams, and Trindon Holliday were all held motionless by Miss State. We’ll see if Georgia’s D-Line can stop the Tigers. Jordan Jefferson finally looked good again at QB for LSU. I think LSU wins this game on the road and gets ready for Florida to come in to Baton Rouge.

No. 15 Penn State (3-1) at Illinois (1-2) 3:30pm
Redemption? Both teams got humiliated Saturday. Illinois was supposed to put Ohio State on Upset Alert and instead got shut out 30-0 and Penn State lost again to Iowa for the 7th time in 8 years, but on Saturday night, it happened during the great White Out. Penn State’s not supposed to lose on the White Out.
Both teams are trying to rebound from a bad quarterback play. Daryll Clark threw three interceptions against Iowa while Illinois QB Juice Williams threw two to Ohio State.
It’s amazing how I remember Juice as a freshman when he was that heralded prospect that would lead Illinois to the Rose Bowl, which he did one season, but hasn’t been the same since. Now he’s a senior that looks like he has nothing left to contribute.
Aside from the 45 points against Illinois State, and FCS school, the Illinois offense has been nonexistent with 9 points against Missouri being the only points scored against a FBS team. Juice Williams has yet to throw a touchdown pass, and thrown three interceptions and under 300 yards total in 3 games (one that he left with an injury in the 1st quarter against Illinois State). On Saturday against Ohio State, not the best defense in the Big Ten, Juice averaged 3.1 yards per pass attempt and rushed for 18 yards on 15 carries. And now he’s going against a better defense in Penn State.

Florida State (2-2) at Boston College (3-1) 3:30pm
I’m still trying to figure out which Florida State I should be talking about. I don’t know which one is going to show up on Saturday. Let’s see, the start the season ranked in the preseason poll, but lose to Miami. Then they barely beat petty Jacksonville State. Then they blow out a then-No. 7 BYU team that had beaten Oklahoma. And then, that’s right, they lost 17-7 to a Matt Grothe-less South Florida team.
Like I’ve been saying all year long, Florida State’s season is all on the play of quarterback Christian Ponder. He’s had bad games in which they lost, and good games in which they won. Against South Florida though, he had a good game through the air passing, but the problem was his offensive line and the speed of the South Florida defense. FSU’s two losses are against Miami and South Florida, both with very fast defenses.
The words surrounding Boston College preseason had them dwelling in the cellar of the ACC, but so far they’ve shown they’re no push over. They did lose to Clemson, but with Dave Shinskie playing QB, 7 points against that Clemson defense is a blessing. Last week though, BC was a two touchdown underdog to Wake Forest and went on to win 27-24. What a big win this would be the Eagles if the right Florida State team doesn’t show up. BC has to go Virginia Tech next and FSU will get Georgia Tech.

Washington (2-2) at Notre Dame (3-1) 3:30
Washington went 0-12 last year and had the nation’s longest losing streak, but beat then-No. 3 USC. We know that. But then everyone rushed to anoint them as a contender in the Pac-10. I don’t know why they did that. The AP Poll was ridiculous for including the Huskies at 24 in their Top 25. Clearly, even with the fluke win over USC (because SC played without Matt Barkley), Washington was a not a force to be reckoned with. They almost upset LSU in week one, sure, but I’m not sold on LSU as a top five anymore either and they’re No. 4 officially now. Washington would go on to get blown out by Stanford and fall off the radar, but they’ll be in national attention one more week since they play Notre Dame.
The Irish went 2-1 in the “conference” schedule against the Big Ten and now begin their Pac-10 “conference” schedule with Washington. I don’t know how they did it, but the Irish got 5 straight home games in South Bend including against No. 7 USC on October 17.
The one thing to keep an eye on is the quarterback battle. Washington’s Jake Locker had a tough time against Stanford, but all eyes are on Jimmy Clausen who came back in the game in the 4th quarter with his turf toe injury to lead the Irish on the game-winning touchdown drive.

No. 9 Ohio State (3-1) at Indiana (3-1) 7pm
Ohio State shut out Illinois this past weekend, but until then their defense has not been that great. And we saw what Indiana did in their near upset against Michigan. Indiana can put points on the board. Teams may still be used to the Hoosiers being the stepping stone in the Big Ten but Ohio State should approach this game with a little more focus and caution. Its games like these that Ohio State must win before they take on Penn State, Iowa, and Michigan consecutively to end the season.
Indiana knows they should have won that last week at Michigan. We’ll see if they build off that or not.

Auburn (4-0) at Tennessee (2-2) 7:45pm
This looks like a whole new Auburn team this year under Gene Chizik. He has his first full recruiting class in and the offense is clicking. I was highly impressed with Auburn in their win over West Virginia and gave them a brief stint in my Top 25. The only thing that worries me is Auburn’s SEC defense. They allowed 30 points last week to Ball State.
It’ll be interesting though to see them go against Tennessee. Let’s see exactly how good this offense is because they haven’t exactly faced a solid defense but now they will go up against an NFL style defense that slowed down Florida’s offense earlier in the season.

No. 7 USC (3-1) at No. 24 California (3-1) 8pm
This is a huge Pac-10 matchup that has lost some hype after USC’s loss to Washington and Cal’s beatdown courtesy of Oregon. This could have been a matchup of two top 5 teams, but instead California is underrated at 24. Before Cal lost to Oregon, all the talk of this game was whether or not Cal would prove that they’re the best team in the Pac-10. If Cal wins this game then its more controversy in the polls on how far Cal should move up. This is the tough stretch for USC especially with true freshman quarterback Matt Barkley learning as he goes along. After leaving Berkeley, the Trojans go to South Bend to take on Notre Dame, then face Oregon State at home, before having to travel to Oregon and play the Ducks team that beat Cal 42-3 in Autzen Stadium where Cal star tailback Jahvid Best has even been rattled in that environment.
The Cal loss to Oregon really got to me because I thought Cal was the best team in the Pac-10. Here’s another chance for Cal to assert themselves as they try to dethrone USC a.k.a “University of Spoiled Children” –Lou Holtz.
USC will play without runningback and goal line specialist Stafon Johnson after he underwent throat surgery in a weight room accident where the bar of the bench press landed on his throat.
California runningback Jahvid Best is looking to have a big game against the USC defense and put his name back at the top of the Heisman race.

No. 8 Oklahoma (2-1) at No. 17 Miami (2-1) 8pm
Kudos to Oklahoma for scheduling a tough non-conference schedule. What did they get for it? A loss in their first game to then-No. 20 Brigham Young. And then there was Miami who came into the season unranked and propelled themselves to number 9 in the country. Looking at Miami’s team and their schedule, many including myself predicted the Hurricanes to start the season 0-3 or 0-4. Instead, they beat Florida State and they beat Georgia Tech. Then they had all the hype surrounding them to go into Lane Stadium and beat the Hokies of Virginia Tech and claim ACC supremacy, but that didn’t happen. Va Tech would have none of it as they put Miami back in their place with a 31-7 win. It gets easier for Miami after this game. They should feel good going into the matchup against Oklahoma at 2-1 instead of 0-3.
If Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford was not injured and if Miami would have won against Virginia Tech, this game could have been a matchup of two top five teams. Instead we have Oklahoma coming off a bye week with Landry Jones at QB and Miami coming off a blowout loss.
Miami couldn’t defend the run against the Hokies as Ryan Williams ran for over 150 yards. Now compare that to Oklahoma and the Canes would have no chance to slow down DeMarco Murray, Chris Brown, and Mossis Madu. Again, it’s a very young Miami defense that’s still developing so the chances they can slow down OU’s high-powered offense are slim. Miami QB Jacory Harris had performances that boosted him into the Heisman race until a dismal performance in the rain against Virginia Tech. Oklahoma has one of the best defensive lines in the country and I’m sure they’ll apply a lot of pressure on Harris and have him making some bad decisions with the football. Oklahoma’s too good, and Miami’s a year away from national contention, but I nonetheless, I will be the biggest Miami fan on Saturday.


... and now time for AP Government and AP Lit.
Don't tell me there are things more important than college football: to quote Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy "THAT'S NOT TRUE!"