2018-09-12 05:42

A quite intense weekend despite the lack of high profile games.

What concerns me are the injuries happening, like Oklahomas RB out for the season or Dukes QB out for some time.
Those are injuries which could change the outcome of the next games or even season.
Injuries are part of the game, but for me it looks like those injuries do get more series from season to season.
That's not surprising since the players do get bigger and faster from season to season, so the impact and forces at work in traffic are increasing and bones and ligaments do not get stronger in the same rate.
It will be interesting to see, whether our beloved sport will develop over the next decades.

I selected this 3 games as the BLOCK OF GRANITE TOP GAMES FOR WEEK 2

Sat. Sep 8
#2 Clemson @ Texas A&M
By far one or the best games this weekend.
And Texas A&M did challenge the Tigers to the last.
At the end it came down to one referee decision regarding a fumble falling into the endzone which did basically eliminate a scoring drive for A&M and a failed 2-point-conversion with all hopes put into 1 pass.
With that performance the Aggies fans can maybe not hope for a great season this year, but next season could be a great one.
This season at least they have the potential to play spoiler for some or the competitors and who knowns, maybe they can even become a competitor themselves.
The Tigers did get a great win and can now concentrate on the ACC games (after they do beat Georgia Southern).
#2 Clemson 28 - Texas A&M 26 -> Jacks TOP GAMES Score: 6-3

Sat. Sep 8
#15 USC @ #13 Stanford
Not the kind of game I like, since it went all defense.
USC was held to 3 points, which is never a good thing and Stanford was also not able to score as many points as we all expect them to score.
Still they managed to outscore USC in the first half and secured the win in the second half.
Not sure what to make out of that result for the upcoming games.
But since every game is different, we might see both teams lighten up the scoreboard again next week.
#15 USC 3 - #13 Stanford 17 -> Jacks TOP GAMES Score: 7-3

Sat. Sep 8
Colorado @ Nebraska
Nebraska did start with some errors, but came through and went into the half with a lead.
They were able to secure that until late in the game.
But Colorado did get the momentum (likely when the Huskers QB went down) and scored a TD for the lead.
Nebraska had one last drive to get back on the board, but only managed to get to the Colorado 20 and since a FG wouldn't have been enough, they blew it.
Bad start for the Huskers in their own stadium to lose that way, but it's just the first game under Frost.
Colorado has now a great start into the season and we might see more of them in the PAC12 than expected.
Colorado 33 - Nebraska 28 -> Jacks TOP GAMES Score: 7-4

Other interesting games:

Sat. Sep 8
#3 Georgia @ South Carolina
Georgia did kill and eat the Gamecocks alive, winning 41-17.
It's clear Georgia is the team to beat in the SEC East.
Jacks interesting games Score: 6-1

Sat. Sep 8
Iowa State @ Iowa
I-OH-AH State did manage to get 3 points in the 1st quarter and that's that.
The Hawkeyes did not score many points more, winning 13-3, but were able to move the ball and score from time to time.
The trophy stays with a Hawkeyes, again.
Jacks interesting games Score: 6-2

Sat. Sep 8
#10 Penn State @ Pittsburgh
Pitt did lose big time.
In fact so big that I was asking myself what went wrong with that strong team.
It's not really clear whether Penn State is that good in that 51-6 win, or Pitt so bad.
Jacks interesting games Score: 7-2

And some other results and info which might be interesting:
Oklahoma won against UCLA 49-21, but lost their star RB for the season.
Arizona State won against Michigan State 16-13. Big win for the Sun Devils who are on some kind of rebuilding path.
Kentucky has beaten Florida 27-16 to end a 31-games-losing-streak against Florida.
Eastern Michigan did beat Purdue on the road 20-19. Big win for Eastern Michigan who were a long time one of the worst teams in football. Since a few seasons they are getting better.
Houston won against Arizona 45-18.
Duke won against Northwestern 21-7, but lost their QB to a broken leg.
South Florida had a great day against Georgia Tech, winning 49-38.
Florida Atlantic did rebound from last weeks loss and won against Air Force 33-27.
Kansas won on the road against Central Michigan 31-7 and ended a 46 game road-losing streak.
Buffalo did beat Temple 36-29
East Carolina did best North Carolina 41-19
UL Monroe won against Southern Miss 21-20. Big win for ULM.
Colorado State did beat Arkansas 34-27. Big win for CSU after their failed season start to win against a SEC team.
Maine (FCS) did win against Western Kentucky 31-28.
California won against BYU 21-18.

This week we have heavy effects by Hurricane Florence.
North Carolina (would have played UCF), NC State (would have played West Virginia) and Virginia Tech (would have played East Carolina, which declined travel) will not host their games, and that's just the known ones now.
Could be that short term also others will cancel as well.
Old Dominion playing Charlotte and Coastal Carolina playing Campbell are other candidates, but those games are still scheduled.
Liberty playing Norfolk State was moved to December, if Norfolk does not make the FCS-playoffs.

I selected this 3 games as the BLOCK OF GRANITE TOP GAMES FOR WEEK 3

Sat. Sep. 15
#12 LSU @ #7 Auburn
Some call this the Tiger Bowl.
Since Ed Orgeron became the HC of the LSU Tigers as interims coach in 2016 he is under fire.
The remaining of 2016 was hard, because all people said, he will be fired and of the season for the NEW one and LSU does suck anyhow (the team did finish 8-4, his record was 6-2 and that includes a bowl win).
2017 was all about that he is not the right guy earning the interims tag being removed and that he will not make LSU a winning team (in terms if LSU wins, it’s a winning team since a long time) and anyway with Saban at Alabama LSU needs a much better coach (Team finished 9-4, including a bowl loss).
This season so far was all about to upcoming collapse of the Tigers under him and that they will suck anyhow.
Well, they did start so far 2-0 including a signature win over Miami.
Now they visit Auburn and that’s something different.
Not the first real test, since Miami is still not a bad team, but Auburn is a little bit tougher than Miami I guess and the margin for errors is slim.
Last week did LSU handle the FCS opponent well, but not convincing, winning only by 31 points and held them scoreless.
Auburn is 10 point favorite, which is a lot.
Can LSU get their offense going against that strong defense?
Auburn did handle their FCS opponent much more points and scored over 60, but does that mean anything?
Crucial for me is, that Auburn is very tough at home, they have likely the better team and know they lost the game last season.
I think Auburn WILL win this one, but I guess it will be a tougher battle than the 10 points do suggest.
Or maybe the haters will get their LSU-does-suck-anyhow-game?
We will see, but I doubt a LSU collapse.
Tigers (Auburn) win.

#17 Boise State @ #24 Oklahoma State
When I read that one of the games will be THIS, I was very excited, and I still am.
The only negative on that is that it’s not on the Smurf Turf in Idaho.
Still a great offense matchup and since Boise is clicking so far, Oklahoma State will have a great opponent here.
Bryan Harsin is in his 5th season with the Broncos and has so far won 2 Conference Championships and also 1 Division title on top.
The goal for this season is clear, win the division, win the conference and if possible get into the playoffs.
So far they won against Troy and UConn by a mile each and will now face a very strong opponent on the road.
If they win this one, they will jump a bit further in the rankings.
Likely not enough to get at the end of the season under the TOP 4, but that will not let them lose the game.
The Cowboys are guided by Mike Gundy since 2005 and he made the Cowboys a winner, won the Big 12 once and also the division once (when the Big12 still had 12 teams).
In the last 3 seasons the team did win 10 games each year and only one or two crucial games did prevent a glorious conference title and more.
Most of the time it was their rival Oklahoma.
Some think the team is great scoring against open defenses, but when the real threats coming, the team sputters and loses.
Well, this week, it’s not the Sooners, but it’s also a good team.
Vegas has the Pokes 3 points ahead, which is not much, if you think that the Cowboys are a winning Big12 team and Boise is ‘only’ a Mountain West team.
I expect a wild game, a lot of points and at the end … Not sure.
It looks the Broncos are in good shape this season, which means they can actually take on almost every team.
The Cowboys are good so far against an FCS team and South Alabama, but can their defense stop that team?
My feeling is the Cowboys offense will score, often, and so will the Broncos offense.
But the Broncos defense will step up at some point and will make either crucial stops or crucial turnovers.
Broncos win.

#4 Ohio State vs #15 TCU
Great matchup here.
TCU is one of the most underrated programs in FBS.
Gary Patterson is the HC of the Horned Frogs since the year 2000 (interims coach for the Bowl, got appointed regular HC afterwards).
Since then did TCU win Conference titles in the WAC (2000, so Patterson was DC on that team), the CUSA (2002), the Mountain West (2005, 2009, 2010 and 2011) and the BIG12 (2014) and they made it to the new created Championship game last season (and lost to Oklahoma).
Patterson did all this and is one of the best protected HC in FBS.
This season they are equipped to get another trip to the BIG12 Championship game and maybe more.
So far they won against a FCS team and SMU, both big time, and will now face an Ohio State team which is under interim guide for the first 3 games.
Urban Meyer is the regular HC of the Buckeyes, but because of the issues with domestic violence inside his staff and the actions or not made actions on that matter he was suspended for 3 games.
He is in his 7th season and did so far win at least a share of the division title of the BIG10 each year, won the conference in 2014 and 2017 and a national title also in 2014. They also got into the playoffs in 2016.
He is a very successful coach (won also national championships with Florida) and will be not on the sideline against one of the toughest teams they will meet this season.
OC Ryan Day did guide the team so far to 2 wins against Oregon State and Rutgers, both not really challenges.
Vegas sees OSU ahead by 12 points, which is too much from my point of view.
TCU is a tough team and played in Texas on neutral ground this will be almost like a home game for them.
I think the Buckeyes are better than anticipated (at least by me), but winning by 12+ points against the Frogs?
This can go both ways and I expect a heavy fought game.
My only concern is that TCU will have some problems with the Buckeyes defense and therefore might score not enough points to stay in the game lately.
I pick Ohio State in a close one.
Buckeyes win.

Other interesting games:

#22 USC @ Texas
Which Texas team will be see? The Texas-Texas or the team beaten by Maryland? USC did not look that good against Stanford, so this might become a good game not on top level.
I think the Longhorns will come out more motivated and will win here. Vegas sees them 3.5 points head, I give them a bit more, thanks to the sputtering USC offense.
Longhorns win.

#10 Washington @ Utah
Great game here. Washington will need this and playing Utah at Utah is always a tough one. The line is in favor of Washington (-6.5) and I hope we will see a closer game as expected.
Huskies win.

#1 Alabama @ Ole Miss
If this would be in Alabama, this would be very one-dimensional, but played in Mississippi, we might see a better game than the Vegas line of -21.0 for Alabama does hint. Ole Miss did play good against Texas Tech and the FCS team, but of cause is Alabama a different caliber. Not many will pick against Alabama here, except Ole Miss die-hard-fans. Matt Luke will have the team in better shape in his 2nd season and we will not see such a disaster like last year, but a clear Alabama win.
Crimson Tide win.

Don't forget your Pick'em picks.

'Til next time
Jack6 on BLOCK OF GRANITE

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