Thursday
Georgia Tech vs. Clemson
This game last year was the first for Dabo Swinney and Georgia Tech spoiled his debut with a 21-17 victory. Although Clemson has probably been preparing for Georgia Tech a decent amount during the offseason, they are only 5 days removed from playing a normal offense. Practice and preparation has probably been tough for the Tigers this week, as they rush to get ready. I expect Roddy Jones to make a bigger impact than he did last season in this matchup and he could be the difference maker. Playing in Atlanta won't be an easy task for Clemson as they play their first true test with new quarterback Kyle Parker.
Prediction - Georgia Tech
Saturday
Notre Dame at Michigan
Notre Dame won last year's matchup 35-17, but Michigan has had a year to adjust to Rich Rodriguez's system and he has more athletes to fit his system. Tate Forcier had an impressive debut for the Wolverines. Denard Robinson also looked good as a more mobile option at quarterback. Michigan played well against a weaker opponent last week, but it is yet to be seen how they play against a real opponent. Brandon Minor is probable for Saturday and would only help the Michigan cause. Notre Dame blew away Nevada. The impressive part was holding Colin Kaepernick and the Nevada offense scoreless. Jimmy Clausen was impressive going 15-18 and the passing game looks in sync for the Irish. Both teams are still question marks at this point, but look for Michigan to squeak out a victory in Ann Arbor.
Prediction - Michigan
South Carolina at Georgia
Joe Cox looked solid at the beginning of the game last week against Oklahoma State. Richard Samuel also looked fast and physical. The problem for Georgia is that early performance didn't continue throughout the game and Georgia's offense sputtered. An interesting matchup in the game Saturday should be Green against Auguste (pending Gilmore doesn't man him). Green was shut down for the most part last week against an underrated corner in Perrish Cox. South Carolina played very well defensively against NC State, but if they stand a chance in this game the offense will have to do something. Brian Maddox looked solid early against NC State pounding the ball up the middle, but I don't know how effective they'll be playing a defensive line like Georgia's led by Geno Atkins and Jeff Owens. Stephen Garcia has to step it up at quarterback for the Gamecocks. His pocket presence at times is questionable and his footwork in the pocket needs to improve. Georgia should win a low scoring game because of a more efficient offense.
Prediction - Georgia
UCLA at Tennessee
Tennessee, albeit playing a weak WKU team last weekend, put up an impressive display of offense and Lane Kiffen looks to show how fast he can bring the Volunteer program back to the promise land. Led by Hardesty, Brown, and Oku at running back, Tennessee should look to run the UCLA defense out. Akeem Ayers and Reggie Carter will have something to say about that. The front 7 of UCLA and the running backs of Tennessee is the key matchup of the game. Evidenced by LSU's performance against Washington last week traveling across the country for a game is not easy, so UCLA will be at the disadvantage. Rick Neuheisel has the UCLA program heading in the right direction, but Kevin Prince isn't there yet at quarterback. He's still young and Jonathan Crompton has a chip on his shoulder as the quarterback of Tennessee after receiving death threats for his performances last season.
Prediction - Tennessee
USC at Ohio State
As I mentioned in my mailbag post, the game definitely favors Ohio State. Saturday will define Matt Barkley's season even though it is only his second game as a collegiate player. Terrelle Pryor will also have eyes on him, as his development will be evaluated by his performance in this crucial game with National Title implications. Pryor almost led Ohio State to an upset last year over Texas, but his defense let him down. Boom Herron needs to step up his game this week and the Ohio State defense needs to play up to their potential if they want to win. Playing in the 'Shoe across the country for the Trojans and their young defense will be a difficult obstacle, but the Buckeyes aren't the team right now that they need to be to compete with the Trojans. I really thought last Friday that this was going to be Ohio State's game with all the setbacks USC has had, but Ohio State will come up short....again.
Prediction - USC
Upset Pick - Iowa State (Iowa)
Iowa State has a very underrated quarterback in Austen Arnaud. Look for the dual threat quarterback to put up good numbers against an Iowa defense missing Matt Kroul and Mitch King in the middle. Iowa struggled to beat Northern Iowa last week and the fans blamed it on the success of Northern Iowa's quarterback. Arnaud might not have a big supporting cast, but he can make things happen himself. The loss of Jewel Hampton is a dagger for the Hawkeyes and if they don't figure something out at the crucial tailback position their season could turn from bad to worse. Anything can happen in a rivalry game and playing at Iowa State will not be beneficial to the Hawkeyes.
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