Iowa Hawkeyes 2014 Recruiting Class

Here's a look at Iowa's recruiting class for 2014, looking pretty good thus far, especially with the recent pick up of Tyler Wiegers.

TYLER WIEGERS 6'4" 213 FRANKLIN, MICHIGAN QB
RIVALS: 4* #13 PS QB
SCOUT: 3* #26 QB
ESPN: 4* #17 PP-QB
247: 3* #33 QB
COMPOSITE: 3* #24 QB #456 OVERALL
OFFERS: IOWA, BOWLING GREEN, C. MICHIGAN, RUTGERS, TOLEDO, W. MICHIGAN
RECRUITED BY: PHIL PARKER
JR: 285-173-2,465-22-4

JAY SCHEEL 6'1" 170 LA PORTE CITY, IOWA QB/WR
RIVALS: 4* #17 ATH
SCOUT: 3* #69 WR
ESPN: 4* #36 ATH
247: 4* #28 ATH
COMPOSITE: 3* #34 ATH #366 OVERALL
OFFERS: IOWA, IOWA STATE, MINNESOTA, NEBRASKA
RECRUITED BY: REESE MORGAN

MARKEL SMITH 5'10" 210 KIRKWOOD, MISSOURI RB
RIVALS: 3* #37 RB
SCOUT: 4* #21 RB
ESPN: 3* #145 RB
247: 4* #18 RB
COMP: 3* #23 RB #390 OVERALL
OFFERS: IOWA, ILLINOIS, OLE MISS, MISSOURI
RECRUITED BY: ERIC JOHNSON
SO: 260-1,498-16

C.J. HILLIARD 5'11" 185 CINCINNATI, OHIO RB/DB
RIVALS: 3* #19 APB
SCOUT: 3* #32 RB
ESPN: 3* #117 RB
247: 3* #66 RB
COMP: 3* #60 RB #863 OVERALL
OFFERS: IOWA, AKRON, BOSTON COLLEGE, BOWLING GREEN, MIAMI OH, OHIO, TOLEDO, WESTERN MICHIGAN, INDIANA
RECRUITED BY: CHRIS WHITE, BRIAN FERENTZ

LUCAS LEGRAND 6'5" 260 DUBUQUE, IOWA OL
RIVALS: 3* T
SCOUT: 3* #40 G
ESPN: 3* #55 T
247: 3* #73 T
COMP: 3* #78 T #860 OVERALL
OFFERS: IOWA, NORTHERN COLORADO
RECRUITED BY: REESE MORGAN

KEEGAN RENDER 6'3" 310 INDIANOLA, IOWA OL
RIVALS: 3* G
SCOUT: 3* #38 G
ESPN: 3* #52 G
247: 2* #94 G
COMP: 3* #71 G
OFFERS: IOWA, IOWA STATE, NORTHERN ILLINOIS
RECRUITED BY: REESE MORGAN

TERRANCE HARRIS 6'2" 240 PERAMUS, NEW JERSEY DE
RIVALS: 2* SSDE
SCOUT: 3* #115 DE
ESPN: 3* #120 DE
247: 2* #77 SSDE
COMP: 2* #82 SSDE
OFFERS: IOWA, FAU, UMASS, W. MICH
RECRUITED BY: CHRIS WHITE

MATT NELSON 6'7" 249 CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA TE/DL
RIVALS: 3* SSDE
SCOUT: 3* #39 DE
ESPN: 3* #67 DE
247: 3* #14 TE
COMP: 3* #24 TE #590 OVERALL
OFFERS: IOWA, STANFORD, NOTRE DAME, ARKANSAS, IOWA STATE, NEBRASKA, SOUTH DAKOTA STATE, WISCONSIN
RECRUITED BY: REESE MORGAN

JAMEER OUTSEY 6'3" 210 SOMERSET, NEW JERSEY DE/LB
RIVALS: 3* OLB
SCOUT: 3* #133 DE
ESPN: 3* #86 OLB
247: 3* #71 WSDE
COMP: 3* #68 WSDE
OFFERS: IOWA, AKRON, BUFFALO, PITTSBURGH
RECRUITED BY: CHRIS WHITE

AARON MENDS 6'1" 204 KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI LB
RIVALS: 3* OLB
SCOUT: 3* #104 OLB
ESPN: 3* #36 ILB
247: 3* #46 ILB
COMP: 3* #62 ILB
OFFERS: IOWA, IOWA STATE
RECRUITED BY: LEVAR WOODS

BEN NIEMANN 6'3" 185 SYCAMORE, ILLINOIS LB
RIVALS: 2* ATH
SCOUT: 3* #77 OLB
ESPN: 3* #97 ATH
247: 2* #151 OLB
COMP: 3* #138 OLB
OFFERS: IOWA, E. MICH, ILLINOIS STATE, NORTHERN ILLINOIS
RECRUITED BY: JIM REID

PARKER HESSE 6'3" 205 WAUKON, IOWA LB
RIVALS: 2* ATH
SCOUT: 2* OLB
ESPN: 3* #98 OLB
247: 3* #113 ATH
COMP: 3* #120 ATH
OFFERS: IOWA, UNI, S. DAK ST, W. ILL
RECRUITED BY: REESE MORGAN
SR: 1,439-16 1,273-23 59 TACKLES 2 INT

OMAR TRUITT 5'11" 185 WASHINGTON, DC CB
RIVALS: 3* ATH
SCOUT: 3* #49 CB
ESPN: 3* #80 ATH
247: 3* #68 CB
COMP: 3* #60 CB #857 OVERALL
OFFERS: IOWA, MARYLAND, SYRACUSE, MIAMI OH, RICHMOND
RECRUITED BY: CHRIS WHITE

JALEN EMBRY 5'11" 176 DETROIT, MICHIGAN CB
RIVALS: 3* #38 ATH
SCOUT: 3* #57 CB
ESPN: 3* #177 ATH
247: 3* #82 CB
COMP: 3* #72 CB
OFFERS: IOWA, BALL STATE, C. MICH, CINCINNATI, E. MICH, N. ILL, OHIO, TOLEDO, W. MICH, WISCONSIN
RECRUITED BY: PHIL PARKER

MARCEL JOLY 5'11" 180 FORESTVILLE, MARYLAND CB
RIVALS: 3* CB
SCOUT: 2* #145 CB
ESPN: 3* #147 ATH
247: 3* #63 CB
COMP: 3* #53 CB #764 OVERALL
OFFERS: IOWA, MARYLAND, OLD DOMINION, TEMPLE, VANDERBILT
RECRUITED BY: PHIL PARKER, CHRIS WHITE

JOSH JACKSON 6'1" 175 CORNITH, TEXAS DB
RIVALS: 2* CB
SCOUT: 3* #97 CB
ESPN: 3* #52 CB
247: 2* #139 CB
COMP: 3* #150 CB
OFFERS: IOWA, COLORADO STATE, NEVADA, NEW MEXICO STATE
RECRUITED BY: BOBBY KENNEDY

JYAZ JONES 6'1" 180 DALLAS, TEXAS S
RIVALS: 2* S
SCOUT: 3* #74 S
ESPN: NR S
247: 4* #31 S
COMP: 3* #86 S
OFFERS: IOWA, BAYLOR, COLORADO STATE, NEBRASKA, NEW MEXICO STATE, TEXAS TECH
RECRUITED BY: LEVAR WOODS

MICK ELLIS 5'10" 182 LUCAS, TEXAS K
RIVALS: 2* K
SCOUT: 3* K
ESPN: 3* #28 K
247: 2* #16 K
COMP: 3* #12 K
OFFERS: IOWA, YALE
RECRUITED BY: CHRIS WHITE, BOBBY KENNEDY

Bowl Game Predictions

The bowl season starts on Saturday with the New Mexico Bowl, which will be played just blocks from my house. I can look out the window and see the stadium from where I'm sitting right now. Should be a good slate of games this year, a lot of close matchups. Here are my predictions for the bowl games.

New Mexico Bowl: Colorado State vs Washington State
If you like points, this game should have no shortage. Last time Colorado State played in Albuquerque they put up over 60 points behind star RB Kapri Bibbs. Mike Leach brought Texas Tech to Albuquerque and has the Cougars offense rollin' this year.
Washington State 52 Colorado State 42

Las Vegas Bowl: Fresno State vs USC
Two of the top WRs in the country square off in this one. USC has played pretty well since getting rid of Kiffin, Fresno was one game away from a BCS bowl berth before being knocked off in a shootout with San Jose State. Derek Carr is a solid QB, but USC has too much talent.
USC 38 Fresno State 28

Idaho Potato Bowl: Buffalo vs San Diego State
I didn't get to see Buffalo in action this year, but I like San Diego State. The Aztecs head coach, Rocky Long, is a great guy, too. I did a show for the New Mexico football team when he was the head coach and I really liked interacting with him and his wife, great people.
San Diego State 35 Buffalo 24

New Orleans Bowl: Tulane vs UL-Lafayette
I didn't get to see any of these teams play at all, I don't really follow the Sun Belt or Conference USA that closely.
UL Lafayette 34 Tulane 27

Beef O' Brady Bowl: East Carolina vs Ohio
I know Ohio has some talented players on their team, but East Carolina is pretty good. Should be a great matchup.
East Carolina 35 Ohio 31

Hawai'i Bowl: Boise State vs Oregon State
Boise got smoked by Washington to begin the season, Oregon State got upset by an FCS team. Boise will be without their head coach as he accepted the coaching vacancy at Washington. Look for a lot of offense in this one as the Beavers feature one of them most potent pass games in the nation.
Oregon State 45 Boise State 27

Little Caesars Bowl: Pittsburgh vs Bowling Green
Bowling Green played extremely well in their win over Northern Illinois and Pittsburgh is somewhat unpredictable. I think Pitt will be ready to go and they have too much talent.
Pittsburgh 38 Bowling Green 28

Poinsettia Bowl: Utah State vs Northern Illinois
If Chuckie Keeton wouldn't have been injured, this game would feature two of the most exciting QBs in the country. Jordan Lynch, a Heisman finalist should lead the Huskies to victory in his final game.
Northern Illinois 31 Utah State 24

Military Bowl: Marshall vs Maryland
Marshall had a great season, and Doc Holliday has done a nice job turning the program into a winner, but Maryland has a lot of talent on offense with Diggs and Long at WR and should be able to put up some points.
Maryland 38 Marshall 24

Texas Bowl: Syracuse vs Minnesota
I wasn't too impressed with Minnesota when I watched Iowa beat them early this year, but they reeled off four straight wins before losing to Michigan State and Wisconsin. I didn't get a chance to watch Syracuse at all this year.
Minnesota 28 Syracuse 21

Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl: Washington vs BYU
This should be a pretty exciting game, two teams with tough schedules going head-to-head. Expect another high scoring game, Washington RB Bishop Sankey is fun to watch.
Washington 38 BYU 27

Pinstripe Bowl: Notre Dame vs Rutgers
This one could be a blowout, I don't know what happened at Rutgers this year, but they're not playing very well. Notre Dame is not elite, but much better than Rutgers.
Notre Dame 34 Rutgers 13

Belk Bowl: Cincinnati vs North Carolina
This could be a good game, Cincinnati has a pretty solid team, and North Carolina has been on a good roll late in the season.
Cincinnati 27 North Carolina 21

Russell Athletic Bowl: Miami vs Louisville
This could be the beginning of a good rivalry as Louisville joins the ACC next season. Both teams were ranked high during part of the season. I think Teddy Bridgewater will bring it and pull off the win.
Louisville 31 Miami 23

Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl: Michigan vs Kansas State
This should be a good matchup, Kansas State started off slow and came on strong late. Michigan was the opposite, appearing near the top 10 before slipping up in conference play. If Michigan plays like they did against Ohio State they win easily.
Michigan 31 Kansas State 21

Armed Forces Bowl: Middle Tennessee vs Navy
Navy is coming off a huge win against Army, but I think Middle Tennessee pulls this one off.
Middle Tennessee 31 Navy 24

Music City Bowl: Ole Miss vs Georgia Tech
I think this one will be good. Ole Miss started strong, but their schedule got the best of them.
Ole Miss 28 Georgia Tech 21

Alamo Bowl: Oregon vs Texas
Oregon had a couple of sloppy games, but Texas' defense will have a hard time slowing them down.
Oregon 49 Texas 31

Holiday Bowl: Arizona State vs Texas Tech
Another game with a lot of offense, should be a fun one.
Arizona State 42 Texas Tech 34

Sun Bowl: UCLA vs Virginia Tech
I like Virginia Tech before the year started, they were my darkhorse to win the ACC, but they were inconsistent. UCLA has been solid.
UCLA 35 Virginia Tech 24

Liberty Bowl: Rice vs Mississippi State
Mississippi State kind of surprised me by making a bowl game.
Mississippi State 28 Rice 17

Advocare Bowl: Arizona vs Boston College
I'm a big fan of running backs, so I will definitely tune in to this one. It features two of the best in the nation Carey vs Williams.
Arizona 34 Boston College 24

Chick Fil A Bowl: Texas A&M vs Duke
Heisman winner, Jameis Winston was too much for Duke in the ACC title game, now they face last years Heisman winner, Johnny Manziel. Should result in a similar outcome.
Texas A&M 45 Duke 21

Godaddy Bowl: Arkansas State vs Ball State
I like both teams, but once again, don't know much about either one.
Ball State 28 Arkansas State 24

Heart of Dallas Bowl: UNLV vs North Texas
UNLV was much improved this year, but North Texas should win. They held their own against Georgia earlier this year.
North Texas 34 UNLV 28

Compass Bowl: Vanderbilt vs Houston
I only caught Vanderbilt for one quarter this year, but it was the fourth quarter against Georgia and they looked great.
Vanderbilt 31 Houston 21

Gator Bowl: Nebraska vs Georgia
I really don't like Nebraska, I usually root for the Big Ten in their bowl games, but it's really hard when it's Nebraska. I hate their coach and their fans. Georgia I thought would be great this year and Murray is out, but I still think they win.
Georgia 34 Nebraska 28

Outback Bowl: Iowa vs LSU
I know LSU has more talent than Iowa and Iowa hasn't beaten any top 25 teams, but they'll be well prepared for this one. Iowa is typically an underdog in bowl games, but Kirk Ferentz is 6-4 in bowls, including a thrilling win over LSU in the 2005 Capital One Bowl. Ferentz has also beat South Carolina and Florida in bowl games, while losing once to Florida (they cheated). LSU will also be without QB Zach Mettenberger, but they have two solid RBs and WRs. Iowa has the best LB trio in the country.
Iowa 27 LSU 21

Cotton Bowl: Oklahoma State vs Missouri
A match up between two former conference foes. Missouri had a dream season, while Oklahoma State watched their BCS hopes slip away against Oklahoma.
Missouri 31 Oklahoma State 27

Cap One Bowl: Wisconsin vs South Carolina
I really like Wisconsin's rushing attack with White and Gordon, should be a nice test for the talented defense of South Carolina.
Wisconsin 24 South Carolina 17

BCS Championship: Florida State vs Auburn
I think Winston leads Florida State to the national title. Auburn has played well and had some miracle plays, so don't count them out.
Florida State 31 Auburn 28

Rose Bowl: Michigan State vs Stanford
This might be the most physical of the bowl games, I'm excited about this one. The Spartans play dirty, but their defense is the best in the nation.
Michigan State 24 Stanford 17

Fiesta Bowl: UCF vs Baylor
UCF coasted through a pretty easy schedule, Baylor has an offense that UCF hasn't seen yet this year.
Baylor 35 UCF 24

Orange Bowl: Clemson vs Ohio State
This should be a solid game, the Buckeyes' winning streak was snapped with a loss to Michigan State, Clemson's only losses were to South Carolina and Florida State.
Ohio State 38 Clemson 27

Sugar Bowl: Oklahoma vs Alabama
Oklahoma snuck into the BCS with a win over Oklahoma State, while Alabama was shocked by Auburn and knocked out of the championship picture. I'm rooting for Stoops' squad, but Alabama should win.
Alabama 34 Oklahoma 24

College Football Dec 4

Wow, what a great weekend of college football! It started Friday morning, watching the Hawkeyes beat up on Nebraska. They didn't really beat them down, although the score 38-17 would say otherwise. The Huskers were actually in the game in the fourth quarter.

The Michigan-Ohio State was a high scoring game, back and forth all the way. Once the Buckeyes went up by two touchdowns I thought it was over. I ran to the store, came back and Michigan was right back in it. It was a pretty ballsy move by Hoke to go for two. Didn't think it would get better than that.

Then the Auburn-Alabama game happened. I really don't like either team, but it was nice to see Alabama lose.

I was 7-3 on predictions last week, now 106-43 for the year.

Here's my new top 25
1-Florida State
2-Ohio State
3-Auburn
4-Missouri
5-Alabama
6-Oklahoma State
7-South Carolina
8-Michigan State
9-Baylor
10-Stanford
11-Northern Illinois
12-Arizona State
13-Clemson
14-Oregon
15-UCF
16-LSU
17-Louisville
18-Oklahoma
19-UCLA
20-Duke
21-Wisconsin
22-Cincinnati
23-Texas
24-Miami
25-Fresno State



Predictions

Oklahoma at Oklahoma State: Huge game for Cowboys, if they win they'll win the conference. Okla State 42 Oklahoma 31

Texas at Baylor: Texas has been a lot better in the second half of the season and Baylor hasn't. Baylor 38 Texas 28

Northern Illinois vs Bowling Green: Jordan Lynch is a beast. Northern Illinois 42 Bowling Green 28

Fresno State vs Utah State: Utah State keeps winning without Chuckie Keeton, Fresno suffered their first loss last week. Utah State 34 Fresno St 31

Florida State vs Duke: Florida State is good, Duke is ok. Florida State 45 Duke 24

Michigan State vs Ohio State: Michigan State's got the defense tat can stop the Buckeyes. Michigan State 24 Ohio State 21

Stanford vs Arizona State: This should be a great game. Arizona State 31 Stanford 27

Missouri vs Auburn: This game is hard to predict, both teams have momentum heading into the game. Missouri 28 Auburn 21

Louisville at Cincinnati: Bridgewater needs a big game to get his name back in the Heisman watch. Cincinnati 34 Louisville 28

Heisman Watch
Jameis Winston QB Florida State
3,490-35-8

Johnny Manziel QB Texas A&M
3,732-33-13 686-8

Bryce Petty QB Baylor
3,557-28-2

Jordan Lynch QB Northern Illinois
2,457-22-5 1,755-20

Marcus Mariota QB Oregon
3,412-30-4

Derek Carr QB Fresno State
4,462-45-5

Andre Williams RB Boston College
2,102-17

Not sure who the top 5 would be right now, Bridgewater, Boyd and McCarron might have a shot.

College Football November 27

What a great week of college football last week. I went 6-4 on my predictions, but I did pick Ok State over Baylor! It was senior day at Kinnick Stadium as the Iowa Hawkeyes took on Michigan. The game got off to a rough start with QB Jake Rudock throwing a pick six on the first play from scrimmage for Iowa, putting them down 7-0. The defense was playing great, but the offense was struggling with turnovers. Rudock did bounce back with a nice touchdown pass to senior TE C.J. Fiedorowicz, but a couple of interceptions gave Michigan a short field and they took a 21-7 lead heading into half time.

Iowa came right out of the gate at the beginning of the second half, with a beautiful touchdown from Rudock to Tevaun Smith. Smith juggled the ball in and then raced 55 yards for the score. The Hawkeyes has some momentum, finally! The Iowa defense held Michigan and Mark Weisman scored on a nine-yard run to tie the game. With about six minutes left, Iowa sent senior kicker Mike Meyer on to take the lead. He had misfired on one earlier and holder, Connor Kornbrath bobbled a snap, so this wasn't exactly an easy kick, especially into the wind. The kick sailed right through the uprights giving the Hawkeyes their first lead of the day 24-21.

Michigan got a nice kick return and solid field position. Michigan QB Devin Gardner was doing a nice job moving the Wolverines down the field, it was looking like their best drive of the game. Gardner was running towards a first down when senior LB Anthony Hitchens came up and stripped the ball right out of his hand. Hitchens pounced on the ball with a little over two minutes remaining. Had Gardner switched the ball into his left hand, he probably would have been fine. The Hawkeyes, needing some first downs to seal the game, had no problem doing so. Weisman picked up a nice 22 yard run on first down. A few plays later Rudock hit Fiedorowicz for a huge first down on a gutsy call. It was a nice win for the seniors, a lot closer than it should have been, Iowa had over 400 yards and Michigan had less than 200.

New Top 25
1-Alabama
2-Florida State
3-Ohio State
4-Clemson
5-Missouri
6-Oklahoma State
7-Auburn
8-South Carolina
9-Michigan State
10-Wisconsin
11-Northern Illinois
12-Fresno State
13-Stanford
14-Louisville
15-Baylor
16-Oregon
17-Arizona State
18-UCF
19-LSU
20-Oklahoma
21-USC
22-Texas A&M
23-UCLA
24-Duke
25-Notre Dame

Games of the Week
I am 99-40 on the year for predictions! Last week was 6-4, not my best week, but who saw Arizona beating Oregon?

Texas Tech @ Texas: Tech is in a downfall after a great start. Texas 34 Tech 31

Iowa @ Nebraska: This is going to be a great match up, I think Iowa is due to beat the Huskers. Iowa 27 Nebraska 21

Alabama @ Auburn: This one could end up being a good one for awhile, but I think 'Bama will pull away. Alabama 42 Auburn 28

Ohio State @ Michigan: This game could get ugly, Michigan's offense is horrible. Ohio State 45 Michigan 17

Notre Dame @ Stanford: Notre Dame is back in the top 25, but it will be short-lived. Stanford 34 Notre Dame 24

Clemson @ South Carolina: What a huge game! If Mizzou loses, the Gamecocks will get a shot at Alabama. Winner of this could be in a BCS game. South Carolina 28 Clemson 24

Texas A&M @ Missouri: Another big game here. A&M 42 Mizzou 34

UCLA @ USC: USC is on a roll right now. USC 38 UCLA 27

Arizona @ Arizona State: Should be a great game. ASU 38 Arizona 27

Minnesota @ Michigan State: Minnesota actually looked decent against Wisconsin, but they won't be able to do much against the Spartan defense. MSU 24 Minnesota 7

College Football November 18

The Iowa Hawkeyes had another week off, and I didn't get a chance to watch much football this weekend. There were a couple surprises, some great games. Here's my new Top 25

1-Alabama
2-Florida State
3-Baylor
4-Ohio State
5-Clemson
6-Missouri
7-Oregon
8-Auburn
9-South Carolina
10-Fresno State
11-Wisconsin
12-Oklahoma State
13-Louisville
14-Northern Illinois
15-Texas A&M
16-Michigan State
17-Stanford
18-Arizona State
19-UCF
20-UCLA
21-LSU
22-Oklahoma
23-USC
24-Duke
25-Ole Miss

I missed a few in my predictions last week, but I am 93-36 on the season. Here are the games for this week.

Texas A&M at LSU: This is going to be a great game! I think this one will go down to the wire. LSU 34 Texas A&M 28

Baylor at Oklahoma State: I might be crazy, but I've got Ok State pulling the upset in a high scoring game. Ok State 45 Baylor 42

Michigan at Iowa: Iowa had a week off to get healthy, while Michigan pulled off an amazing field goal and overtime win to beat Northwestern. Iowa 28 Michigan 24

Arizona State at UCLA: Division will be on the line in this one, UCLA needs a win to stay in it. UCLA 31 ASU 27

Michigan State at Northwestern: Northwestern hasn't won a single conference game, but they're not a bad team, they just can't win close games. They lost in overtime to Iowa and Michigan, and lost on a hail mary to Nebraska. Unfortunately, Michigan State, is damn good. Michigan State 21 Northwestern 14

Wisconsin at Minnesota: Minnesota is sitting at 8-2 right now, which is a shock to me. I still don't think they're that great. Wisconsin 38 Minnesota 21

Washington at Oregon State: The Pac 12 is a lot of fun to watch if you like a lot of points. This game should be like that. Oregon State 45 Washington 38

Missouri at Ole Miss: Hard to believe Mizzou is in position to win the division, they'll need to close out strong though. Ole Miss 27 Missouri 21

BYU at Notre Dame: BYU is going to pull this one off! BYU 35 Notre Dame 24

New Mexico at Fresno State: The Lobos lost their QB and RB for the remainder of the season, this one will get ugly, New Mexico's defense is horrendous. Fresno 63 New Mexico 24

Heisman Race
It's looking it's going to be a QB's year, here's a look at the top players

Bryce Petty QB Baylor 2,992-24-1
Jameis Winston QB Florida State 2,938-28-7
Teddy Bridgewater QB Louisville 3,048-24-3
Johnny Manziel QB Texas A&M 3,313-31-11 611-8
A.J. McCarron QB Alabama 2,228-21-5
Tajh Boyd QB Clemson 2,960-24-7
Marcus Mariota QB Oregon 2,819-25-0
Derek Carr QB Fresno 3,421-32-4
Jordan Lynch QB Northern Illinois 2,216-21-5 1,273-14

Looking at the SEC, I'm not sure they will get two BCS teams. Auburn might, they have one loss, but will lose to Alabama. Missouri has to play Ole Miss and A&M. South Carolina has to play Clemson, a win would be huge, but they might take on Alabama in the SEC title game. Not sure how it will play out. I have Michigan State beating Ohio State in the Big 10. Alabama vs Florida State in the BCS title game.

College Football 11/11

It's getting closer to the end of the season, which makes me sad. I love college football. I didn't get a chance to watch the Iowa-Purdue game, but I knew Iowa would win. Purdue is bad, really bad. Iowa started sluggish, but pounded them in the second half on their way to a 38-14 win, making them bowl eligible for the first time since 2011.

I wasn't sold on Missouri and Auburn before this weekend, but they keep winning and they were pretty impressive. Here's my new top 25.

1-Alabama continues to roll, I don't think they'll lose in the regular season
2-Florida State might be the only team that could compete with Alabama this year
3-Baylor whooped on Oklahoma, still has to play at Oklahoma State, could be a tough one
4-Ohio State should run the table, but Michigan State could provide a huge test in the conference title game
5-Stanford nice win over Oregon, too bad a loss to Utah knocked them out of title contention
6-Clemson still looking strong after the pounding by FSU, a huge game with South Carolina awaits at the end
7-Fresno State is rolling right now, but they've had a couple close calls
8-Missouri is getting to the tough part of their schedule, I could see them losing a couple
9-Oregon just got knocked out of title contention with a tough loss at Stanford, but they'll still make a BCS game
10-Auburn I can't believe they keep winning, but they'll lose a couple
11-South Carolina could be in a perfect spot, I see Georgia winning the division and losing to Alabama, Georgia would make it based on tie-breaker with S. Carolina. South Carolina will make a BCS game if they win out
12-Louisville is looking good, still has a BCS shot
13-Northern Illinois was off this week, but I don't see anyone in the MAC taking down Jordan Lynch and the crew
14-Wisconsin had a nice win over BYU and they have a great 1-2 punch at RB
15-Oklahoma State I think will knock off Baylor at home later this year and win the conference
16-Texas A&M not winning in the best fashion, but they're winning
17-Michigan State could win out, I think they'll take down the Buckeyes in the title game
18-UCF knocked off Houston and could be on their way to a conference title
19-Arizona State had a close call with Utah, with the win they're in the driver seat to win the division
20-Texas continues winning and their losses seem to be behind them
21-UCLA had a huge road win at Arizona, a tough schedule still awaits
22-Miami looked awful against an unpredictable Virginia Tech team, they need to bounce back if they want to win the division and have another shot at the Seminoles
23-LSU put up a decent fight against Alabama, still have to face A&M
24-Oklahoma got pasted by Baylor putting them out of the conference race
25-Georgia didn't beat anyone worth a crap, but they're a good football team

Predictions
Last week was my best week for predictions, not just based on winners, but scores as well, I was pretty close on some of them. I was 10-2 in predictions. Here are the close scores: (my scores) Alabama 38 LSU 17 (38-21) Pittsburgh 28 Notre Dame 21 (24-21) Wisconsin 27 BYU 17 (31-21) Iowa 38 Purdue 14 (31-14) New Mexico 45 Air Force 37 (45-42) Not bad! 87-33 on the year.

Here are this week's games

Georgia Tech at Clemson: GT is a pretty good team, but they're no match for Clemson at home. Clemson 42 Ga Tech 28

Washington at UCLA: This should be a great game, I give the nod to UCLA, I usually go with the home team in a close one. UCLA 38 Washington 31

Stanford at USC: USC has been a different team since firing Lane Kiffin, and Stanford is coming off a huge win over Oregon. USC is going to put up a hell of a fight. Stanford 31 USC 28

Georgia at Auburn: I think Georgia is going to win out and take the division. Georgia 45 Auburn 34

Michigan State at Nebraska: The Spartans have the best defense in the country, Nebraska is going to have to make a big play on special teams or defense. Michigan State 17 Nebraska 10

Houston at Louisville: I think this one will be close in the first half, but Louisville pulls away in the second half. Louisville 38 Houston 21

Oklahoma State at Texas: Texas keeps winning, but they've had a lot of close games, Oklahoma State is talented. Oklahoma State 37 Texas 31

Michigan at Northwestern: Before the season started I saw this game as quite possibly the title game for the Legends division, now it's a battle to see who will stay our of last place. Northwestern 28 Michigan 21

Texas Tech vs Baylor: Tech is on a three game slide, Baylor is rocking. Baylor 45 Texas Tech 24

Colorado State at New Mexico: I think this will be a great game, Colorado State has one of the top RBs in the country, Kapri Bibbs (he was recruited by Iowa) and New Mexico features one of the best running teams in the country. Should be a fun one. New Mexico 38 Colorado State 34

Ball State at Northern Illinois: Ball State is 9-1 with their only loss being to North Texas. Northern Illinois at home should win. Northern Illinois 34 Ball State 24

Heisman Watch
Bryce Petty QB Baylor he's only thrown 1 int and has 8 rush td, numbers are great, they're winning big
2,657-21-1 118-8

Jameis Winston QB Florida State only played the first half this week
2,661-26-7 157-3

Johnny Manziel QB Texas A&M don't think he'll win it this year, unless they somehow win out and he quits throwing picks
3,313-31-11 611-8

Marcus Mariota QB Oregon numbers are still amazing, but a loss to Stanford hurts
2,531-22-0 495-9

A.J. McCarron QB Alabama not putting up big numbers, but continues winning
2,041-19-3

Teddy Bridgewater QB Lousiville had a nice game this week
2,845-24-3

Derek Carr QB Fresno State is dominating, but it's against the Mountain West
3,421-32-4

Jordan Lynch QB Northern Illinois similar to Carr, ripping up smaller conference defenses
1,871-19-5 1,150-12

Mike Evans WR Texas A&M continues putting up big numbers
57-1,263-12

Melvin Gordon RB Wisconsin his stock is going down with a couple below average games against Iowa and BYU, but I still think he's the best RB in the country
143-1,160-11

College Football 11/4

Another great weekend of college football, I was 7-2 in my predictions. Florida State is the real deal, I think they'll play Alabama in the title game and they could beat them, I hope they do!

The Iowa Hawkeyes had a tough game against Wisconsin. They started strong, picking off the Badgers on the third play of the game, but couldn't get anything done. The Hawkeye defense didn't allow a first down in the first quarter and Wisconsin only had 47 yards until their first td drive. Wisconsin led 7-6 at halftime, but Iowa outplayed them, they just couldn't punch the ball in the end zone. The second half was even worse for the offense and the defense got worn down in a 28-9 loss. QB Jake Rudock was knocked out of the game after a costly interception, and backup C.J. Beathard couldn't provide much of a spark going 4 of 15. He's got a cannon arm, but has a lot of work to do. The Hawkeyes offense will need to get something going to close out the season, luckily they play Purdue next. Jordan Canzeri had a huge run, but the Hawkeyes once again failed to score a touchdown. Coach Ferentz did go for a couple of fourth downs in the game, which was a shock. The loss is solely blamed on the offense in this one. The defense played a great game, just ran out of gas late.

Iowa's three conference losses have been against the three best teams in the conference: Ohio State by 10, Michigan State by 12 and Wisconsin by 19. At 5-4, they close out at Purdue, vs Michigan and at Nebraska. I think they'll beat Purdue and either Michigan or Nebraska.

Rankings
1-Alabama
2-Florida State
3-Oregon
4-Ohio State
5-Baylor
6-Stanford
7-Clemson
8-Fresno State
9-Louisville
10-Auburn
11-Miami
12-South Carolina
13-Oklahoma
14-Northern Illinois
15-Oklahoma State
16-Wisconsin
17-Missouri
18-Texas A&M
19-LSU
20-Michigan State
21-UCF
22-Arizona State
23-BYU
24-Texas
25-Texas Tech

I am 75-31 on predictions so far, here are the games this week.
Oklahoma at Baylor: Baylor is rolling and they had a bye week. At home against Oklahoma could be a good one, but they'll pull it off. Baylor 45 Oklahoma 27

Oregon at Stanford: Huge game here, one of the best of the season. Stanford 34 Oregon 31

LSU at Alabama: Alabama 38 LSU 21

Notre Dame at Pittsburgh: I'm still not sold on Notre Dame and Pittsburgh has been up and down. Pittsburgh 24 Notre Dame 21

Texas at West Virginia: Texas is undefeated in conference and West Virginia isn't the best team in the Big 12. I think WV keeps it close. Texas 31 West Virginia 28

Nebraska at Michigan: Nebraska had a huge hail-mary to beat Northwestern and Michigan got smoked by Michigan State. Michigan 31 Nebraska 24

UCLA at Arizona: Both teams are still in the race for the division title. I'll go with Arizona at home. Arizona 31 UCLA 24

BYU at Wisconsin: BYU is a good team coming off a bye week. Wisconsin beat Iowa, but looked sluggish on offense. Borland should be back on defense. Wisconsin 31 BYU 21

Houston at UCF: UCF 45 Houston 31 should be a lot of points.

Iowa at Purdue: Iowa should be able to bounce back and beat Purdue, Purdue is awful. Iowa 31 Purdue 14

Air Force at New Mexico: If you like running, this will be a game to watch! I'll be in Colorado Springs, and won't get a chance to check it out. Would love to see this game, Brian Urlacher's number is being retired. New Mexico 45 Air Force 42

Fresno State at Wyoming: Earlier in the year I predicted Wyoming would be the one to knock off Fresno, I've changed my tune. Fresno State 45 Wyoming 28

Heisman Race
1-Marcus Mariota QB Oregon
2,281-20-0 511-9

2-Jameis Winston QB Florida State
2,502-24-6

3-Bryce Petty QB Baylor
2,453-18-1

4-Johnny Manziel QB Texas A&M
2,867-26-8 564-8

5-Teddy Bridgewater QB Louisville
2,557-23-2

6-Jordan Lynch QB Northern Illinois
1,871-19-5 1,150-12

7-Derek Carr QB Fresno State
3,061-28-4

8-Melvin Gordon RB Wisconsin
124-1,074-11

9-Sean Mannion QB Oregon State
3,540-31-6

10-Tajh Boyd QB Clemson
2,620-20-6

College Football 10/30

Another week of college football is in the books as we are about 3/4 of the way through the season. I was in Scottsdale, Arizona, this weekend, and luckily there was an Iowa Hawkeye bar within a mile from the hotel! The Hawkeyes played Northwestern, a team that has given them match up problems in recent history. Northwestern had a three game losing streak heading into the game and were desperate for a victory. QB Kain Colter, who's dominated the Hawkeyes in his career came back from injury, but they were without Venric Mack their star running back/return man.

Iowa started strong like they did a week ago with a strong drive that ended in a touchdown and a 7-0 lead. They muscled their way downfield with a power running attack led by Mark Weisman and Damon Bullock. The Iowa defense played well in the first quarter as they led 7-0. The second quarter, Iowa's offense wasn't able to reach the end zone, but the defense pitched a shut out. Mike Meyer drilled a field goal, for a 10-0 halftime lead. Iowa has led at halftime every game this season, but their second half play hasn't been that great.

The second half Northwestern took over as Colter was able to run, and hit Dan Vitale for a wide open touchdown. With the score tied at 10 in the fourth quarter, a huge run into Iowa territory late in the game had Hawkeye fans nervous. Not only were they in field goal range, but the clock was winding down. Colter ran an option and a misguided pitch fell to the ground and was scooped up by Iowa freshmen, Desmond King. The Hawkeyes were able to cross midfield, but not quite to field goal range. On 4th and 11, Jake Rudock was intercepted. Time expired and the teams went to overtime.

Iowa started with the ball in overtime and Rudock hit Tevaun Smith for a first down on the first play. After a couple of runs and a penalty, the Hawkeyes were sitting with a 3rd and long situation. The next play Northwestern blitzed and Rudock with very little time chucked the ball into the end zone, it looked to me it was just thrown away, but tight end, CJ Fiedorowicz, was there and hauled it in for the touchdown. Iowa led 17-10.

Iowa's defense was able to shut down Northwestern on 4th down with a huge sack to seal the victory. The defense played a heck of a game, they ended with a season high six sacks. They only had eight total heading into the game. They secondary shut down Northwestern's top receivers. The defense has gotten better as the season goes on, even without DE Dominic Alvis, Mike Hardy stepped up and played a nice game. I liked some of the looks on 3rd down, the defense rushed three, with Nate Meier and Reggie Spearman on the outside, providing a quick pass rush duo. Spearman looked great when he was in there, he was too quick for the left tackle. I'd like to see him in there a little bit more, he's going to be a good one.

The win sent Northwestern to their fourth straight defeat, and Iowa is now 2-2 in conference and 5-3 overall. I don't think they have a shot at winning the division, but a bowl game is certainly in reach, including the Gator Bowl, which would be nice. Iowa's three losses are to Ohio State, Michigan State and Northern Illinois, all three are ranked and own a 23-1 overall record.

Here's my new top 25 for the week
1-Alabama
2-Oregon
3-Florida State
4-Ohio State
5-Miami
6-Baylor
7-Stanford
8-Clemson
9-Fresno State
10-Louisville
11-Auburn
12-South Carolina
13-Oklahoma
14-Northern Illinois
15-Oklahoma State
16-Wisconsin
17-Missouri
18-Texas Tech
19-Texas A&M
20-LSU
21-Michigan State
22-UCF
23-Michigan
24-Virginia Tech
25-Arizona State

I was 7-2 on predictions last week, 61-27 overall now.
Here's this weeks games.
Arizona State at Washington State: The Sun Devils are pretty solid this year, Washington State isn't too bad, but they're not quite good enough to beat ASU. Arizona State 42 Washington State 31

USC at Oregon State: USC might be better with their interim coach, but Oregon State has some weapons on offense, could be high scoring. Oregon State 34 USC 28

Miami at Florida State: Game of the week here, just like it used to be. Both teams are undefeated, but the Seminoles have more talent. Florida State 31 Miami 24

Oklahoma State at Texas Tech: Both teams could use a win right now and stay near the top of the conference standings. This should be a good one, but I'll give the nod to the home team. Texas Tech 42 Oklahoma State 34

Michigan at Michigan State: Michigan has struggled this year with close wins against Akron and UCONN and a loss to Penn State. Michigan State's only loss was to a Notre Dame team that Michigan defeated. Michigan State might have the best defense in the country and their offense seems to be clicking with Connor Cook at QB. Spartans win. Michigan State 21 Michigan 17

Northwestern at Nebraska: Before the season started I thought both teams would compete for the division title, Northwestern is pretty much eliminated and Nebraska is coming off an embarrassing loss at Minnesota. Both teams need a win. Nebraska 27 Northwestern 21

Wisconsin at Iowa: This could be a great matchup and the weird thing is, Iowa could make a better bowl game if they lose. Wisconsin could win out and end up in a BCS bowl which could move Iowa up to a better bowl game. Weird scenario, but it could happen. Wisconsin has one of the best running attack in the country and Iowa will be ready. If they can shut down Abbrederris, the Hawkeyes could find a way to win. Unfortunately, I think Wisconsin is too good. Wisconsin 27 Iowa 21

Georgia vs Florida: Here's another big conference game where each team really needs a win. Both teams are down, but I think Georgia has the advantage with Aaron Murray at QB. Georgia 42 Florida 28

New Mexico at San Diego State: Rocky Long coaching against his alma-mater. I got a chance to meet him a few years back when the Lobos beat Nevada in the New Mexico Bowl, great guy. Hard to root against him. The Lobos don't have quite enough talent to hang with the Aztecs this year. San Diego State 45 New Mexico 31

Heisman Watch
1-Marcus Mariota QB Oregon
224-144-2,281-20-0 56-511-9

2-Jameis Winston QB Florida State
183-128-2,177-23-4

3-Bryce Petty QB Baylor
176-122-2,453-18-1

4-Melvin Gordon RB Wisconsin
107-1,012-11

5-Johnny Manziel QB Texas A&M
252-184-2,594-22-8 89-497-6

6-Teddy Bridgewater QB Louisville
243-179-2,557-23-2

7-Sean Mannion QB Oregon State
391-270-3,263-30-3

8-Jordan Lynch QB Northern Illinois
245-154-1,711-18-5 156-1,031-8

9-Derek Carr QB Fresno State
364-251-2,574-25-4

10-Mike Evans WR Texas A&M
48-1,101-11

College Football 10/23

What a wild weekend of college football, quite a few upsets, I was hoping for one in Columbus, but the Hawkeyes weren't able to put together much in the fourth quarter and lost by 10. They played hard and gave me hope for the rest of the season.

Here's my new top 25
1-Alabama
2-Oregon
3-Florida State
4-Ohio State
5-Miami
6-Baylor
7-Missouri
8-Texas Tech
9-Fresno State
10-Stanford
11-Virginia Tech
12-Clemson
13-Northern Illinois
14-Oklahoma State
15-Wisconsin
16-Louisville
17-Auburn
18-Texas A&M
19-Oklahoma
20-UCLA
21-Nebraska
22-South Carolina
23-LSU
24-Michigan State
25-UCF

Predictions for the week, I'm now 61-27
Boise State at BYU: This should be one hell of a game, Boise State has been looking pretty solid since their opening week loss, but BYU is a bit under the radar. BYU 34 Boise 28

Tennessee at Alabama: Tennessee keeps hanging around with some solid teams, but they met their match this week. Alabama 45 Tennessee 17

UCLA at Oregon: I think UCLA is pretty solid, but not good enough to hang in this one. Oregon 45 UCLA 21

Stanford at Oregon State: Oregon State's passing combo Mannion to Cooks has been money this year! But Stanford has way more talent elsewhere. Stanford 31 Oregon State 27

South Carolina at Missouri: Missouri just keeps winning, I don't even think I had them pegged for a bowl game this year. Missouri 24 South Carolina 21

Texas at TCU: Which Texas team will show up in this one? Hopefully the good one. Texas 31 TCU 27

Texas Tech at Oklahoma: One of the biggest conference games right now, should be a good one. Oklahoma 31 Texas Tech 30

Michigan State at Illinois: Michigan State's defense is unbelievable, Illinois is much improved, but I can't imagine them moving the ball much on the Spartans. Michigan State 17 Illinois 7

Penn State at Ohio State: The Buckeyes just keep winning, and they should win this one at home. Ohio State 31 Penn State 24

I haven't really looked much at the Heisman race this year, but decided to check out some stats. It's looking like it's going to be a quarterback's year to win again.

Top candidates(in no order)
Jameis Winston QB Florida State 1,885 Yds 20 TD 3 Int definitely moved up after torching Clemson

Teddy Bridgewater QB Louisville 2,213 Yds 20 TD 2 Int moving down after losing to UCF

Johnny Manziel QB Texas A&M 2,289 Yds 18 TD 7 Int 486 Rush Yds 6 Rush Td he was banged up in their second loss, probably not going to win it this year

Marcus Mariota QB Oregon 2,051 yds 19 TD 0 Int 493 Rush Yds 9 Rush Td he's my favorite at this point, and take into consideration these numbers are without playing many 4th quarters

Sean Mannion QB Oregon State 2,992 Yds 29 TD 3 Int his numbers are ridiculous, but they lost to Eastern Washington, and will most likely lose more in conference play, great stats though

Derek Carr QB Fresno State 2,276 23 TD 4 Int kind of a darkhorse here since he plays for Fresno, but he's putting up great numbers and they're undefeated

Jordan Lynch QB Northern Illinois 1,488 Yds 14 TD 5 Int 932 Rush Yds 7 Rush TD has some great rushing numbers, put up over 300 on the ground, breaking an NCAA single game record for rushing yards by a QB in a game, also a darkhorse like Carr

Melvin Gordon RB Wisconsin 107-1,012-11 averaging nearly 10 yards per carry, which is amazing, he's the only RB that I see in the race right now. Wish he would have stayed committed to Iowa :(

Brandin Hooks WR Oregon State 76-1,176-12 crazy numbers so far, but he plays for Oregon State. If they can pull some upsets in the conference he'll be in the hunt with Mannion

Mike Evans WR Texas A&M 43-1,024-9 mikey football, ok that's not a real nickname, but huge numbers so far, over 20 yards per catch!

College Football 10/14

A pretty wild weekend of college football, there were some pretty big upsets, and a wild finish between Michigan and Penn State. Iowa was on a bye week, and I didn't get to watch many of the games at all. New Mexico was able to take Wyoming to the wire, but ended up losing 38-31. I'm really liking the Lobos team this year, I don't see them in a bowl game, but could see them being competitive. Missouri over Georgia was a huge shock, the Tigers are still undefeated and moving up the rankings. Utah held on to knock off Stanford, and Penn State upset Michigan in 19 overtimes.

New Top 25
1-Alabama
2-Ohio State
3-Oregon
4-Clemson
5-Florida State
6-Louisville
7-Texas A&M
8-Miami
9-UCLA
10-South Carolina
11-LSU
12-Baylor
13-Missouri
14-Texas Tech
15-Fresno State
16-Virginia Tech
17-Georgia
18-Stanford
19-Northern Illinois
20-Oklahoma State
21-Wisconsin
22-Oklahoma
23-Nebraska
24-Michigan State
25-Auburn


Predictions

I was 9-4 last weekend, which puts me at 53-22 on the season. Here's a look at some big games this weekend.

UCF at Louisville - This could be a pretty good football game here, UCF is pretty solid, but I don't think they'll win. Louisville 38 UCF 31

UCLA at Stanford - Stanford coming off a huge upset loss to Utah will be ready to get back to winning against undefeated UCLA. Stanford 34 UCLA 24

Auburn at Texas A&M - Auburn hasn't been bad this year, A&M pulled off a nice win Saturday. A&M 42 Auburn 28

Florida State at Clemson - One of the biggest games of the year, winner has a shot at the national title shot, the loser still could, too. Clemson 27 Florida State 24

Florida at Missouri - Missouri coming off a huge upset win against Georgia, will they have enough to win again against Florida? Florida is coming off a tough loss at LSU. Missouri 21 Florida 17

LSU at Ole Miss - Ole Miss is in the middle of a brutal schedule, LSU is rolling right now. LSU 24 Ole Miss 10

TCU at Oklahoma State - Both teams need a win to get back in the hunt for the conference crown. Ok State 34 TCU 28

Washington at Arizona State - Washington is another team with a pretty brutal schedule right now. Arizona State 31 Washington 27

BYU at Houston - Houston's QB just quit football, will they be able to win without him against a tough BYU squad? BYU 34 Houston 31

Iowa at Ohio State - This is the game on Iowa's schedule I'm least looking forward to. I don't think the Hawkeyes match up very well with Ohio State this year. Ohio State 38 Iowa 17

USC at Notre Dame - USC is 1-0 since canning Lane Kiffin, could be a refreshing thing for the remainder of the season, but will travel to South Bend. Notre Dame 34 USC 28

Wisconsin at Illinois - Wisconsin rolled against Northwestern and will probably do the same to Illinois. Wisconsin 42 Illinois 24

Utah State at New Mexico - This is a tough one to project, Chuckie Keeton is out for the year for the Aggies. Not sure who will start at QB for the Lobos. I think the Lobos pull the upset. UNM 35 Utah St 31

Bowl Projections

New Mexico: San Diego State vs Utah

Las Vegas: Fresno State vs Washington

Idaho Potato: Bowling Green vs Utah State

New Orleans: Western Kentucky vs North Texas

Beef O' Brady: South Alabama vs Marshall

Hawai'i: San Jose State vs Rice

Little Caesars: Ball State vs Indiana

Poinsettia: Boise State vs Army

Military: North Carolina vs Tulane

Texas: TCU vs Michigan

Kraft Fight Hunger: Arizona vs BYU

Pinstripe: Toledo vs Houston

Belk: Rutgers vs Pittsburgh

Russell Athletic: UCF vs Virginia Tech

Buffalo Wild Wings: Texas vs Northwestern

Armed Forces: Wyoming vs Navy

Music City: Georgia Tech vs Florida

Alamo: Texas Tech vs UCLA

Holiday: Oregon State vs Oklahoma State

Sun: Ohio vs Maryland

Liberty: East Carolina vs Auburn

Independence: Arizona State vs Duke

Chick Fil A: Miami vs Missouri

Godaddy: Buffalo vs Arkansas State

Heart of Dallas: Iowa vs Notre Dame

Compass: Washington State vs Cincinnati

Gator: Michigan State vs Ole MIss

Outback: Nebraska vs South Carolina

Cotton: Oklahoma vs LSU

Cap One: Wisconsin vs Texas A&M

Sugar: Georgia vs Louisville Georgia gets back on track wins the division and upsets Alabama, Louisville gets upset at Cincinnati

Orange: Clemson vs Oregon Clemson will lose at South Carolina, knocking them out of contention for the title, Oregon losing to Stanford

Fiesta: Baylor vs Northern Illinois

Rose: Stanford vs Alabama Stanford will beat Oregon at home and clinch the North, Alabama loses to Georgia in SEC title game

BCS National Championship: Ohio State vs Florida State I have Ohio State as the only team going undefeated besides Northern Illinois, I have FSU losing to Clemson, but running the table the rest of the way

College Football 10/8

I had a couple of shows this week, so I wasn't able to watch the Iowa-Michigan State game at Spectators with all of the other Hawkeye fans, which maybe was a good thing. I had a show in Farmington at the Sun Ray Casino on Friday, so I watched the first half at the hotel and the second half at the lounge in the casino. I knew Michigan State had a great defense, but, Iowa couldn't do much at all against them. Mark Weisman couldn't even get double digit yardage, and the Hawkeyes managed only 23 yards on the ground, after averaging over 200 per game. Jake Rudock was sharp in the second half completing all 11 passes, including two touchdowns, which put Iowa ahead 14-10 going into halftime. Unfortunately, the offense couldn't get anything else going and the defense got shredded up pretty bad. Sean Draper looked awful out there, looked like he was playing touch football. I noticed Mike Hardy playing a lot, not sure what happened to Dominic Alvis. The offense played with Kevonte Martin-Manley, too, not sure what happened to him. He could have provided something on offense, but some younger receivers did step up. Looking at the numbers, Iowa, actually put up better yardage against the Spartans than Notre Dame did, but the outcome was different. The Hawkeyes have a week off to prepare for the Ohio State Buckeyes, which could be an ugly one. I still think the Hawks will come up with six wins and make a bowl game.

I watched a few other games while at the lounge, but most of them were blowouts. The wife and I decided to go to the New Mexico-New Mexico State game when we got home. It's a 15 minute walk to the stadium, which is fantastic. It was the second college football game I've actually been to in my life. The first was October 26, 1991, in Ames, Iowa. Iowa State tied Oklahoma State 6-6, it was one of the worst college, or any level of football, games that I have ever seen. No offense, four field goals, it was ridiculous. The UNM game was quite a bit different, the Lobos won 66-17 and put up over 500 yards rushing and ran a kick back 100 yards. New Mexico State might have the worst team in the country, they have some decent players, but they got dominated. It was pretty fun to watch. The Lobos have so many talented running backs on the roster. I think Bob Davie will have the team in a bowl game within a couple of years, I don't think they will this year. Had they beat UTSA and UNLV they could have had a shot, but the schedule the rest of the year is pretty tough.

My Top 25
1-Alabama
2-Ohio State
3-Oregon
4-Clemson
5-Stanford
6-Florida State
7-Georgia
8-Louisville
9-Texas A&M
10-Miami
11-UCLA
12-Oklahoma
13-South Carolina
14-Michigan
15-LSU
16-Florida
17-Fresno State
18-Baylor
19-Northern Illinois
20-Texas Tech
21-Northwestern
22-Virginia Tech
23-Oklahoma State
24-Washington
25-Missouri

Predictions: I was 9-3 this weekend, 44-18 on the season now!

Here are the big games for this week

Rutgers at Louisville: If the game was at Rutgers, I would give them a chance to keep it close, but I don't see it happening. Louisville 45 Rutgers 27

Oregon at Washington: Washington is a good team that played well against Stanford. Oregon is a great team and have won most of their games in the 56-17 range. Oregon 45 Washington 28

Missouri at Georgia: Missouri has been surprising so far this year, still undefeated, but the tough part of the schedule is coming up. Georgia fought off some injuries and held on to beat Tennessee. Georgia 34 Missouri 24

South Carolina at Arkansas: This is a tough one, South Carolina didn't look too sharp in their win over Kentucky, and Arkansas doesn't have as much talent as the Gamecocks. South Carolina 27 Arkansas 21

Texas A&M at Ole Miss: A&M enjoyed a week off, while Ole Miss was knocked off for a second straight week, pushing them out of the top 25. This will be their third straight. A&M 41 Ole Miss 27

Florida at LSU: I wasn't sure about LSU before the season started, but they are looking pretty good. Florida looked good against Arkansas, even without their starting QB, who is done for the year. LSU 45 Florida 24

Oklahoma vs Texas: Oklahoma squeaked out a win against TCU, and Mack Brown avoided getting fired as Texas narrowly escaped against Iowa State. (I do think the Cyclones got hosed at the end.) Oklahoma 42 Texas 28

Oregon State at Washington State: Both of these teams are looking pretty sharp on offense right now, this should be a nice shootout. Washington State 48 Oregon State 42

Pittsburgh at Virginia Tech: I think Pittsburgh has a pretty solid offense, but could struggle against Virginia Tech on the road. Va Tech 28 Pittsburgh 21

Baylor at Kansas State: Baylor is putting up points like crazy! Kansas State desperately needs a victory after losing to Texas and Oklahoma State in conference play. Baylor 56 Kansas State 24

Indiana at Michigan State: Indiana shocked me by beating up Penn State Saturday. Michigan State's defense is ridiculously good. Michigan State 31 Indiana 23

Northwestern at Wisconsin: Both teams have lost to Ohio State, but hung with them pretty good. I'm picking Wisconsin at home. Wisconsin 27 Northwestern 24

Michigan at Penn State: Michigan looked like they were back to normal after a couple sloppy losses to weak opponents. Penn State couldn't shut down Indiana's offense. Michigan 35 Penn State 21

New Mexico at Wyoming: The Lobos ran all day on NMSU. Wyoming has one of the better QB's in the Mountain West, should be another high-scoring affair. Wyoming 52 New Mexico 35

College Football 9/30

Great weekend of college football, here's a look at some early Heisman candidates.

Zach Mettenberger QB LSU 1,398 Yards 13 Td 1 Int

Aaron Murray QB Georgia 1,338 Yards 11 Td 3 Int

Jordan Lynch QB Northern Illinois 869 Yards 10 Td 2 Int 439 Rush Yards 7 Rush Td

Tajh Boyd QB Clemson 994 Yards 9 Td 0 Int

Teddy Bridgewater QB Louisville 1,214 Yards 14 Td 1 Int

Johnny Manziel QB Texas A&M 1,489 Yards 14 Td 4 Int 314 Rush Yards 3 Rush Td

Jameis Winston QB Florida State 1,048 Yards 12 Td 2 Int

Melvin Gordon RB Wisconsin 68-698-7

It's looking like it will be a QB again this year winning the Heisman, but Gordon is having a huge year. Sad that he flipped from Iowa to Wisconsin, he's good.

New top 25 for the week
1-Alabama
2-Ohio State
3-Oregon
4-Clemson
5-Stanford
6-Florida State
7-Georgia
8-Louisville
9-Texas A&M
10-Miami
11-UCLA
12-Oklahoma
13-South Carolina
14-Michigan
15-Northwestern
16-LSU
17-Florida
18-Washington
19-Fresno State
20-Baylor
21-Northern Illinois
22-Texas Tech
23-Arizona State
24-Virginia Tech
25-Oklahoma State

As conference play is getting started up lets take a look at some contenders.

AAC: Louisville is the clear front runner here, but don't count out Houston, Rutgers or UCF. Louisville is my pick.

ACC: It's Clemson or Florida State in the Atlantic, I'm picking Clemson, they get the Noles at home. Coastal will be up for grabs, I think Miami will edge Virginia Tech. Clemson will beat Miami in the title game.

Big 12: Oklahoma State's loss to West Virginia shocked a lot of people, they had a pretty sweet schedule, but now they'll be playing from behind. I think Oklahoma takes it, but Baylor gives a good run. Possibly Texas Tech.

Big 10: The Legends division is wide open with Michigan, Northwestern, Nebraska, Iowa and Michigan State all capable of winning it. I don't think the Spartans have enough offense to compete, Nebraska might not have enough defense. I'll go with Michigan, they have more talent than the other teams. The Leaders division was won by Ohio State Saturday, they'll beat Michigan for the title.

Pac 12: The North division features Oregon and Stanford, two powerhouses, but also include Washington and Oregon State. Oregon State has been rolling since their first week upset by Eastern Washington. I think Oregon gets the nod here. The South will be up for grabs, too, with USC not being a part of that after firing Lane Kiffin. They might actually be better without him, but they're already 0-2 in conference play. UCLA, Arizona State and Arizona should be in contention, with UCLA winning. Oregon will knock them out in the title game.

SEC: I have Georgia running the table the rest of the year and meeting Alabama for the conference title, with the Bulldogs winning and going on to the BCS title game with Ohio State.

Mountain West: I think Fresno will take on Utah State with the Aggies winning the title game. Chuckie Keeton is one of my favorite QB's in the country.

Last week I was 8-2 in my predictions, I missed on Virginia Tech and UNLV. Pretty good slate of games this week.

UCLA at Utah: Utah has looked better than recent years, but UCLA is one of the better teams in the conference. UCLA 42 Utah 31

Washington at Stanford: Both teams come in undefeated, should be a slugfest. I think Stanford pulls it off at home. Stanford 38 Washington 27

Maryland at Florida State: Maryland is undefeated, but they haven't had the most brutal schedule. Florida State got off to a slow start last week, but ended up winning. Florida State 45 Maryland 21

Kansas State at Oklahoma State: Both teams desperately need a win if they want any shot at a conference championship. I think the Cowboys will bounce back. Ok State 35 Kansas State 27

TCU at Oklahoma: TCU looked sharp against SMU and Oklahoma beat up Notre Dame, I think Oklahoma rolls. Oklahoma 34 TCU 17

North Carolina at Virginia Tech: UNC was awful against East Carolina and Va Tech surprised me by winning at GT. VT 31 UNC 24

Georgia Tech at Miami: Miami is on a roll this year, GT coming off their first loss. Miami 34 GT 24

Illinois at Nebraska: Illinois has looked much improved and QB Nate Scheelhaase is putting up some huge numbers. He might be able to carve up the Husker defense. This is a tough one to predict, but I'm going Illinois on the upset. Illinois 31 Nebraska 28

Michigan State at Iowa: Both teams boast solid defenses thus far, but Michigan State's offense has been atrocious. Iowa has done well against the run, should be a defensive game, one big play could win this game. Iowa 17 Michigan State 13

Arizona State at Notre Dame: The Sun Devils blasted USC, putting up over 60 on the Trojans. Notre Dame suffered their second defeat of the season, will they lose again? Arizona State 34 Notre Dame 24

Ohio State at Northwestern: The Buckeyes are quite possibly the hottest team in the country right now. Northwestern has struggled with some weaker non-conference opponents, but are still 4-0. Ohio State 38 Northwestern 27

New Mexico State at New Mexico: The Lobos lost a heart-breaker against UNLV. They put up 500 yards rushing, but the defense was horrible. New Mexico State is one of the worst teams in college football. New Mexico 48 New Mexico State 27

Now lets recap Iowa's 23-7 win over Minnesota.

The Gophers were pretty cocky coming in at 4-0 and hosting the Hawkeyes in the first conference tilt of the year. Minnesota beat New Mexico State, UNLV, Western Illinois and San Jose State, nothing to get too riled up about. The Hawkeyes were coming off a huge win against Western Michigan 59-3, not the best competition, but to see the Hawkeyes play well in every aspect of the game was nice. They look much better than a year ago.

1st Quarter: The Hawkeyes started with the ball and were able to get into Minnesota territory, but ended up punting from the 39. The announcers were skeptical of the call, but Ferentz is all about the field position game. Minnesota started at their own nine and went three and out quickly. Iowa started their second possession with great field position starting at their 42. Thanks to a 19 yard run by Mark Weisman the Hawkeyes were able to get into Minnesota territory once again, but stalled out at the 31. Mike Meyer hit a 49 yarder to put the Hawks up 3-0. Minnesota could only come up with two yards on their ensuing drive going three and out once again. A nice punt by Minnesota put Iowa at their 33 to start their next drive. The Hawkeyes went three and out and again punted. The Gophers started at their 32 and their offense finally started coming to life with their first first down of the game. The quarter ended with Iowa up 3-0.

2nd Quarter: The Gophers started the quarter strong with Philip Nelson hitting Derrick Engel for a 15 yard gain to the Iowa 31. The Iowa defense came up huge the next three plays stuffing the run and Nate Meier came up with his first sack knocking Minnesota back. The Gophers punted into the end zone. Weisman got things rolling on first down with a nice 11 yard run out to the 31. On third and short, Jake Rudock hit rarely used fullback, Adam Cox, who rumbled 35 yards for a big first down in Minnesota territory. A pass interference call got the Hawkeyes down to the 8 and they were able to punch it in a few plays later on a Rudock scramble. His 5th rushing td of the season made it Iowa 10 Minnesota 0. The Gophers first play from scrimmage on the next drive was an interception by Christian Kirksey, who made a great catch making sure the ball didn't hit the ground. It was a huge opportunity for Iowa to turn into a blowout as they started at the Gopher 23. They only picked up two yards and Meyer's field goal attempt hit the upright. They still had a 10 point lead and were dominating. Minnesota was able to come up with another first down on their next drive with a nice 20 yard pass, but they again stalled out near midfield. Their punt pinned Iowa at the 15 with a few minutes before the end of the half. Rudock hit Tevaun Smith on a nice 11 yard gain on first down before hitting Damond Powell, who raced 74 yards for his second td of the season. Iowa 17 Minnesota 0 That was Powell's fourth catch of the year, he only has 206 yards. Over 50 yards per catch! Iowa defense held the Gophers again, with Dominic Alvis recording a sack. The Hawkeyes got the ball back at their 27, but with only :35 left they downed it. Halftime Iowa 17 Minnesota 0

3rd Quarter: Minnesota started with the ball in the second half and picked up a couple of first downs. James Morris was able to sack Nelson and forced another Gopher punt. Iowa started at their 20 and got a big third down pass from Rudock to Jake Hillyer for a 14 yard first down. Another third down conversion by Rudock pushed the Hawks near midfield. On third and nine, Rudock kept one for a 22 yard run to the Minnesota 32. Weisman picked up 25 yards on the next two runs, but penalties knocked the Hawkeyes back. Rudock hit Martin-Manley for 14 yards to get them down to the five, but the Hawkeyes settled for another field goal. Iowa 20 Minnesota 0 The Hawkeyes had the Gophers up against the wall and Minnesota needed something big, and Marcus Jones provided that play. He took the kick off 66 yards down to the Iowa 34, they were finally in business. Nelson ended up hitting Engel for a 23 yard touchdown, burning B.J. Lowery on the play. Iowa 23 Minnesota 7 The home crowd was finally starting to make some noise and it felt like a momentum shift could be coming up. Jordan Cotton had a nice 25 yard kick return, he could have been gone if not for being tripped up. Rudock hit KMM for a nice 14 yard pass pushing Iowa to the 43. Damon Bullock ripped off a 22 yard run to get Iowa into Gopher territory. The quarter ended Iowa 20 Minnesota 7

4th Quarter: Iowa has struggled to put teams away this year, but it was looking as if they were about to put the nail in the coffin. Rudock hit tight end C.J. Fiedorowicz on a 13 yarder getting into the red zone. After a three yard Weisman run, Rudock threw an interception in the end zone to Brock Vereen. Alvis came up with another sack on the next drive, but Minnesota pushed the ball up to the 43 after getting the first down on fourth down. After three straight Nelson incompletions they decided to punt. Iowa would start at their own 10. This is the point in the game where Weisman comes in handy wearing the defense down and eating some clock. He ran the first three plays and picked up gains of 15, 9, and 8 respectively as the Hawks got out to the 42. On third and nine, Rudock came up big again hitting KMM for 18. Weisman picked up 14 on the next play as the Hawks got down to the 25. After three straight plays of minus yards, Meyer kicked a 46 yarder. Iowa 23 Minnesota 7 The Gophers needed two touchdowns and a couple two point conversions, things were looking good for Iowa. With only 5:30 left it seemed to be pretty much wrapped up. Antonio Johnson took the kickoff 53 yards, but they were called for unsportsmanlike conduct, which was a huge penalty. The drive started at the 42, they had fourth and five when James Morris picked off Nelson's pass and sealing the victory for Iowa. With four minutes left the Hawkeyes used a heavy dose of Weisman and Jordan Canzeri to run the clock out. Iowa 23 Minnesota 7

Iowa dominated most of the game, but Minnesota was able to complete a few 10 yard plus pass plays. The secondary did do a nice job for a majority of the game, but had a few lapses, including Lowery getting burned on the touchdown. Jake Rudock is improving every game and makes great decisions other than the pick he threw. He has made some great runs this year, too. Weisman is a bull and is among the rushing leaders in the country. Bullock provides as a decent number two back so Weisman can get some rest. KMM is the most consistent WR, as the they're still looking for a solid second guy. Smith, Hillyer and Powell seem to be guys they can depend on. There is plenty of talent at TE, but they're not getting the ball much. The OL dominated the Gophers, once again Rudock went untouched. If the line continues playing this well, the Hawkeyes could have a chance to contend for the division title. Minnesota DL Ra'Shede Hageman wasn't much of a factor in the game at all. The DL was impressive holding Minnesota to 30 rushing yards. They were able to get a few sacks as well, two for Alvis and one for Meier. Morris added a sack and a huge interception. Kirskey and Hitchens were making plays, too, the LB group played a great game. A lot of people were down on the secondary, but they were able to put together good coverage which allowed the DL to get to Nelson. They were out of place on some plays, but overall they weren't bad.

Iowa takes on Michigan State this week, homecoming at Kinnick Stadium. The Spartans really have no offense to speak of, but they have one of the better defenses in the Big Ten. Should be similar to last year's game which was won by Iowa 19-16 in double overtime. I could see both teams struggling to get to 20 points.

College Football 9/25

Another weekend of college football is over and there were some great games. I was 7-4 on my predictions, putting me at 27-13 overall for the season.

Here's my new top 25, not many changes this week
1-Alabama
2-Ohio State
3-Oregon
4-Clemson
5-Stanford
6-Florida State
7-LSU
8-Louisville
9-Georgia
10-Texas A&M
11-Oklahoma State
12-Miami
13-UCLA
14-Oklahoma
15-Michgan
16-South Carolina
17-Northwestern
18-Florida
19-Washington
20-Fresno State
21-Baylor
22-Northern Illinois
23-Notre Dame
24-Wisconsin
25-Ole Miss

Games of the week

Thursday-Virginia Tech at Georgia Tech: I thought Va Tech might be in the upper half of the ACC this year, but they haven't had the best performances yet. GT has looked pretty solid and have a pretty potent offense. This should be a tough match for both teams, but I think GT pulls it off at home. Georgia Tech 27 Virginia Tech 21

Friday-Utah State at San Jose State: Utah State has one of my favorite players, QB Chuckie Keeton. I wish they would have knocked off USC last week. I was also hoping San Jose State would put up a better effort against Minnesota. This will be both teams first conference game since joining the Mountain West, both teams won 10 games last year and lost their coaches. Utah State 38 San Jose State 34

Saturday-Ole Miss at Alabama: Ole Miss is ranked, but won't be after this week, Alabama is too good and they're at home. Alabama 38 Ole Miss 21

LSU at Georgia: LSU has looked better than I thought they would, and Georgia is still my pick for the national title game. Georgia 28 LSU 21

South Carolina at UCF: UCF has looked pretty good this year, but will have a big test against the Gamecocks. South Carolina 31 UCF 17

USC at Arizona State: USC hasn't looked very good yet this year, even with all the talent they have on the roster. I really don't like them either, so it's not a bad thing. Arizona State 31 USC 21

Arizona at Washington: A battle of two undefeated teams go head-to-head in Pac 12 play. Washington has a couple nice wins over Boise State and Illinois, Arizona has an amazing running back. I'm giving the nod to Washington since they're at home. Washington 38 Arizona 34 Pac 12 looks pretty tough this year

Oklahoma at Notre Dame: Notre Dame wasn't very sharp in close victories over Michigan State and Purdue, or in their loss to Michigan. Maybe they were overlooking Purdue a bit heading into a big game against Oklahoma. Oklahoma 27 Notre Dame 17

Iowa at Minnesota: I will recap the Iowa-Western Michigan game in a post below. Minnesota is 4-0 after non-conference play with a pretty light schedule: New Mexico State, UNLV, Western Illinois, and San Jose State, not exactly seizure-worthy opponents, but their fans think they're on their way to the Rose Bowl. Iowa 34 Minnesota 21

Wisconsin at Ohio State: This is a huge game, still shocked that Wisconsin lost to Arizona State. The Badgers have a great RB trio of Melvin Gordon, James White and Corey Clement. Ohio State has been nothing short of amazing thus far with a fairly weak schedule. This should be a slugfest. Ohio State 38 Wisconsin 31

UNLV at New Mexico: I always like to predict the UNM game since I follow the Lobos pretty close. I can see the brand new video screen at the stadium from my front window. The Lobos had a week off to get rested up and work on some things. They're looking to avenge a loss from last year against UNLV. New Mexico 28 UNLV 24

The Iowa Hawkeyes played Western Michigan last week in a game that a lot of fans weren't sure about. The Hawkeyes already lost to a MAC opponent, and haven't beaten Western Michigan in two tries previously. The game started with a Bronco three-and-out and the Iowa offense looked good on the first drive, but stalled out and settled for a field goal. I was thinking it was going to be a long day, but the Hawkeyes dominated from that point on. The score at halftime was 38-3! Kevonte Martin-Manley ran two consecutive punts back for touchdowns, and B.J. Lowery ran two interceptions back for touchdowns as Iowa won 59-3. I was pretty shocked at the outcome, I had a good feeling Iowa would win by a few touchdowns, but not by eight.

QB: Jake Rudock did a great job starting for the Hawkeyes, winning his third straight game. He looks great in the pocket, never seems to hurry the play, just sits back and waits for someone to get open, or he's not afraid to run. He's not the quickest, but knows when and where to run to pick up yards. Freshmen, C.J. Beathard, got in the game in the second half and got to showcase some skills. I missed his first throw, apparently they had the second string camera guys in at that point. He did hit Damond Powell on a beautiful 54 yard toss, and had a nicely thrown pass dropped by Adam Haluska. He showed some fancy footwork as well, rushing for over 30 yards. I believe they had six players with 30+ rushing yards. C.J. seems to be a worthy backup.

RB: Mark Weisman had a nice break today as he only carried 10 times, and still manages to lead the country in rushing attempts. He picked up over 40. Damon Bullock got a few more carries today and showed some promise. Jordan Canzeri had a great touchdown run and a couple others where he showed some flash, he did fumble once, but with some more reps could be a game changer. Quite possibly my favorite of the group is LeShun Daniels, the true freshmen. He had a tough fumble, but I like the way he runs and think he's going to be a star. Overall, this group has been pretty impressive.

WR: Still quite a few question marks for this unit, but different guys are stepping up. KMM didn't have a big game catching the ball, but didn't have to with his great punt returns. Jacob Hillyer had a touchdown catch for the second consecutive week, and Damond Powell had a touchdown catch from Rudock to go along with the 54 yarder from Beathard. Tevaun Smith started for the first time and only had one catch that I can recall.

TE: C.J. Fiedorowicz had another drop in the game, he's had way too many of those. Ray Hamilton has stepped up nicely this year and appears to be Iowa's best pass catching tight end. There are many valuable weapons at the TE spot this year, a very deep group.

OL: This group has been pretty amazing this year making sure Rudock doesn't get hit. I can't remember too many times where Jake has been hit or even pressured at all. That will change with the conference season coming up, but I really like the OL. Scherff is one of the better tackles in the country, Boffeli has been great for a first year starter, Blythe is a talented guy, Walsh is still taking some lumps, but has been good, and Van Sloten has been solid. The backups have impressed as well, MacMillan and Donnal both looked good in the times they have played. Pretty amazing group.

DL: They're still having a hard time getting sacks, but they're putting a lot of pressure, especially against WMU. They're QB was pretty awful, but the DL had a lot to do with that. Dominic Alvis looked pretty good Saturday, he was using quickness to get by the OL and almost came up with a couple sacks. Jaleel Johnson looked pretty good in his first real action and seems to have a nice career ahead of him. LTP, Davis and Cooper are all looking good at the DT spot. Nate Meier looks like Rudy when he plays DE, I think he's a bit undersized, but could use his quickness like Alvis did and maybe cause some disruption. Faith Ekakitie didn't do much in his time in the game. Overall, the unit is playing well, really stopping the run. Iowa hasn't allowed a rushing touchdown this season.

LB: Morris, Kirksey and Hitchens are all playing well. This group will definitely be missed next year, but we got to see a glimpse of the future with Quinton Alston, Marcus Collins, Travis Perry and true freshmen, Reggie Spearman. Collins and Alston have looked good on special teams play and both seemed to play with a lot of aggression when they got into the game. Spearman looks so fast out there, and again, they were playing WMU, but he's someone to keep an eye on down the road. I like that the coaches are calling more blitzes this year, too. Morris has had two blitzes that forced bad throws and interceptions for Lowery, one against Iowa State, and one that he took back for a touchdowns against WMU.

DB: The secondary really played well against WMU. Lowery, of course, had the two interceptions for touchdowns, and Tanner Miller added another interception as well. Desmond King has looked pretty good filling in for injured started Jordan Lomax, too. It was nice to see Maurice Fleming play for the first time, that kid is fast. Watch him on both of KMM's punt return touchdowns, the kid was hauling! Miller and Johnny Lowdermilk still need to work on some things at the safety spots, but Lowdermilk is really making strides and has turned into a pretty good tackler. Nico Law and Anthony Gair got some time, too, which was good to see. Overall this unit is playing pretty well, but will need to take it to another level in B1G play.

K/P: Mike Meyer has been very accurate and continues to not miss XP's, which is nice! Connor Kornbrath had one of his better games punting the football, too, hopefully that trend will continue. The return game looked great, not just on KMM's touchdowns, but Jordan Cotton had a nice kick return, too.

I know that Iowa just played Western Michigan, but it's exciting to watch this team improve. I think they definitely have a shot at a bowl game this year, especially with the way some other teams have been playing.

Michigan beat Notre Dame, but had heart attack victories at home against Akron and at UCONN. Both pretty bad teams, so Michigan is beatable this year. Devin Gardner has been making a lot of mistakes.

Nebraska's defense is pretty awful this year, too. Wyoming put up 35 on them, and UCLA put up 38. The offense has weapons to keep up, but they have a lot of work to do.

Northwestern really hasn't been that impressive either, although, they are undefeated. They struggled with Western Michigan for the first half until they ran away with that game, and didn't look overly impressive against Maine.

Michigan State's offense is really bad. The defense is amazing.

Minnesota's offense doesn't look too bad, but the defense could certainly use some work. Ra'Shede Hageman is a beast though on the DL.

It seems like the teams in this division have either a great offense and no defense or vice versa, which could be good for Iowa, they seem to be pretty balanced. As much as I would love to see Iowa in the Rose Bowl, I don't think it will happen with this schedule, but you never know, the conference season is just starting.

College Football 9/17

A lot of great games this past weekend, including Iowa-Iowa State, which the Hawkeyes won, more on that in a bit. Alabama was able to knock off Johnny Football, and Michigan got a bit of a scare from Akron, as my friend, Chris Winslow, said, "Michigan must have been up all night, cuz they just got lucky." The ending of the Arizona State-Wisconsin game was a bizarre one that didn't go in favor of Wisconsin. And the Cornhuskers got smoked by UCLA!

Back to Iowa at Iowa State, the only game I watched from start to finish. The Hawkeyes once again had a shut out heading into half, up 13-0, and looked like they were in control. They had held the Cyclones to about 70 yards in the first half, defense was sharp, offense wasn't making mistakes. The Hawkeyes really need to work on their fourth quarter defense if they want to win some games this year. They were up 27-7, ended up winning 27-21. The score should not have been that close. Mark Weisman was the man once again for the Iowa offense, carrying the ball 34 times for over 140 yards. B.J. Lowery came up with a HUGE interception in the fourth quarter, it really was beautiful. Watch it right here.

I watched part of the New Mexico at Pittsburgh game, it was pretty brutal. Pitt got out to a 42-6 lead before the Lobos came alive, unfortunately, it was way too late. The Lobos were able to force some turnovers, but couldn't capitalize. The defense wasn't making any stops int he first half, either. I think the Lobos will bounce back nicely, they next two games after their bye week are home against UNLV and New Mexico State, both winnable.

Here's my new top 25 for the week

1-Alabama
2-Ohio State
3-Clemson
4-Oregon
5-Stanford
6-Florida State
7-LSU
8-Louisville
9-Georgia
10-Texas A&M
11-Michigan
12-Oklahoma State
13-Miami
14-UCLA
15-Oklahoma
16-Northwestern
17-South Carolina
18-Florida
19-Washington
20-Arizona State
21-Fresno State
22-Baylor
23-Northern Illinois
24-Notre Dame
25-Wisconsin

Last weeks games I went 8-4 on my predictions, I thought Texas would bounce back, I thought A&M would pull the upset, too. I can't remember which other ones I missed, but here are my predictions for some of the games this week. I am 20-9 on the season.

Boise State at Fresno State: This is going to be a shootout! Should be a fun one Friday night. Fresno 48 Boise 42

Arizona State at Stanford: Stanford hasn't looked like a national championship caliber team, but they're solid. Arizona State knocked off a tough Wisconsin team last week, but will they have what it takes to win at Stanford? Stanford 31 Arizona State 27

Auburn at LSU: Both teams come into the game undefeated, is Auburn a decent team? We'll see, but I don't think this one will be close. LSU 31 Auburn 10

Kansas State at Texas: Both of these teams are really needing a win here, Texas has lost two in a row and they need to bounce back. They screwed me on my predictions, so Kansas State 31 Texas 30

Utah State at USC: I really like Utah State and their QB, Chuckie Keeton, I've liked him since I saw him play in his first game where they almost knocked off defending champ, Auburn. I really hate USC and don't think they're looking very good. Utah State 34 USC24

North Carolina at Georgia Tech: I like both of these teams, should be a great game. Georgia Tech 34 North Carolina 27

Arkansas at Rutgers: Arkansas is undefeated and will have Iowa-boy, A.J. Derby, starting at QB, gotta cheer for him. Rutgers is going to be some tough competition though. Arkansas 24 Rutgers 21

Utah at BYU: BYU had a week off after dismantling Texas, Utah lost an overtime conference game to Oregon State. BYU 38 Utah 28

Michigan State at Notre Dame: The Spartans have to be one of the worst undefeated teams in the country, their offense is awful, I know they put up points against Youngstown State, but come on? Notre Dame looked horrendous against Purdue, will they show up in this one? Notre Dame 17 Michigan State 10

Missouri at Indiana: Indiana is putting together a pretty good looking offense, and knocked off a decent Bowling Green team pretty handily. I haven't seen Missouri play this year, but they've usually got some fire power on offense. This one could get wild. Missouri 49 Indiana 38

Western Michigan at Iowa: Iowa has won two straight now, and seem to be gaining confidence. QB Jake Rudock has looked pretty good in his first three starts and will continue getting better, especially if the WR's can hold on to the ball. Western Michigan is still winless, but put up a good fight for awhile against Northwestern. Iowa 31 Western Michigan 14

Iowa Hawkeyes Football Recruiting

2014 Verbals

Jay Scheel 6'1" 170 La Porte City, Iowa QB/WR
RIVALS: 4 STAR #14 ATH
ESPN: 4 STAR #35 ATH, #277 OVERALL
SCOUT: 3 STAR #70 WR
247: 4 STAR #28 ATH
COMPOSITE: 3 STAR #30 ATH, #3 STATE, #351 OVERALL
RECRUITED BY: REESE MORGAN
OFFERS: IOWA, IOWA STATE, MINNESOTA, NEBRASKA

C.J. Hilliard 5'11" 185 Cincinnati, Ohio RB
RIVALS: 3 STAR RB
ESPN: 3 STAR #111 RB
SCOUT: 3 STAR #31 RB
247: 3 STAR #72 RB, #59 STATE
COMPOSITE: 3 STAR #61 RB, #57 STATE, #877 OVERALL
RECRUITED BY: CHRIS WHITE, BRIAN FERENTZ
OFFERS: IOWA, AKRON, BOSTON COLLEGE, BOWLING GREEN, INDIANA, OHIO

Lucas LeGrand 6'5" 260 Dubuque, Iowa OL
RIVALS: 3 STAR T
ESPN: 3 STAR #54 T
SCOUT: 3 STAR #36 G
247: 3 STAR #71 T, #5 STATE
COMPOSITE: 3 STAR #70 T, #5 STATE, #826 OVERALL
RECRUITED BY: REESE MORGAN
OFFERS: IOWA

Keegan Render 6'3" 310 Indianola, Iowa OL
RIVALS: 3 STAR G
ESPN: 3 STAR #50 G
SCOUT: 3 STAR #35 G
247: 2 STAR #89 G, #6 STATE
COMPOSITE: 3 STAR #64 G, #6 STATE
RECRUITED BY: REESE MORGAN
OFFERS: IOWA, IOWA STATE

Matt Nelson 6'7" 249 Cedar Rapids, Iowa DE
RIVALS: 3 STAR SSDE
ESPN: 3 STAR #61 DE
SCOUT: 3 STAR #35 DE
247: 3 STAR #15 TE, #4 STATE
COMPOSITE: 3 STAR #23 TE, #4 STATE, #578 OVERALL
RECRUITED BY: REESE MORGAN
OFFERS: IOWA, ARKANSAS, IOWA STATE, NEBRASKA, NOTRE DAME, SAN DIEGO STATE, STANFORD, WISCONSIN, YALE

Terrance Harris 6'2" 240 Peramus, New Jersey DE
RIVALS: 2 STAR DE
ESPN: 3 STAR #103 DE
SCOUT: 3 STAR #99 DE
247: 2 STAR #76 SSDE, #48 STATE
COMPOSITE: 2 STAR #79 DE, #49 STATE
RECRUITED BY: CHRIS WHITE
OFFERS: IOWA, FLORIDA ATLANTIC, UMASS, W. MICHIGAN

Aaron Mends 6'1" 204 Kansas City, Missouri LB
RIVALS: 3 STAR OLB
ESPN: 3 STAR #35 ILB
SCOUT: 2 STAR #136 OLB
247: 3 STAR #43 ILB, #21 STATE
COMPOSITE: 3 STAR #57 ILB, #22 STATE
RECRUITED BY: LEVAR WOODS
OFFERS: IOWA, IOWA STATE, NORTH DAKOTA STATE

Jameer Outsey 6'3" 210 Somerset, New Jersey LB
RIVALS: 3 STAR OLB
ESPN: 3 STAR #83 OLB
SCOUT: 3 STAR #76 OLB
247: 3 STAR #69 WSDE, #40 STATE
COMPOSITE: 3 STAR #63 WSDE, #35 STATE
RECRUITED BY: CHRIS WHITE
OFFERS: IOWA, AKRON, BUFFALO, PITTSBURGH, TEMPLE

Ben Niemann 6'3" 185 Sycamore, Illinois LB
RIVALS: 2 STAR ATH
ESPN: 3 STAR #95 ATH
SCOUT: 2 STAR #137 OLB
247: 2 STAR #137 OLB, #54 STATE
COMPOSITE: 2 STAR #172 OLB, #63 STATE
RECRUITED BY: JIM REID
OFFERS: IOWA, NORTHERN ILLINOIS

Omar Truitt 5'11" 185 Washington, DC DB
RIVALS: 3 STAR
ESPN: 3 STAR #76 ATH
SCOUT: 3 STAR #42 CB
247: 3 STAR #77 CB, #7 STATE
COMPOSITE: 3 STAR #63 CB, #7 STATE, #830 OVERALL
RECRUITED BY: CHRIS WHITE
OFFERS: IOWA, MARYLAND, RICHMOND, SYRACUSE, TENNESSEE

Marcel Joly 5'11" 180 Forestville, MD CB
RIVALS: 3 STAR CB
ESPN: 3 STAR #145 ATH
SCOUT: 2 STAR #153 CB
247: 3 STAR #69 CB
COMPOSITE: 3 STAR #55 CB #734 OVERALL
RECRUITED BY: CHRIS WHITE
OFFERS: IOWA, MARYLAND, OLD DOMINION, TEMPLE, VANDERBILT

Jalen Embry 5'11" 176 Detroit, MI CB
RIVALS: 3 STAR #37 ATH
ESPN: 3 STAR #175 ATH
SCOUT: 3 STAR #59 CB
247: 3 STAR #88 CB
COMPOSITE: 3 STAR #74 CB #998 OVERALL
RECRUITED BY: PHIL PARKER
OFFERS: IOWA, BALL STATE, CENTRAL MICHIGAN, CINCINNATI, EASTERN MICHIGAN, ILLLINOIS, NORTHERN ILLINOIS, OHIO, TOLEDO, WESTERN MICHIGAN, WISCONSIN

Josh Jackson 6'1" 175 Corinth, Texas CB
RIVALS: 2 STAR CB
ESPN: 3 STAR #49 CB
SCOUT: 2 STAR CB
247: 2 STAR #141 CB, #278 STATE
COMPOSITE: 3 STAR #149 CB, #275 STATE
RECRUITED BY: BOBBY KENNEDY
OFFERS: IOWA, COLORADO STATE, NEVADA, NEW MEXICO STATE

Jyaz Jones 6'1" 180 Dallas, Texas DB
RIVALS: 2 STAR S
ESPN: NR S
SCOUT: 3 STAR #59 S
247: 4 STAR #28 S, #36 STATE
COMPOSITE: 3 STAR #86 S, #122 STATE, #983 OVERALL
RECRUITED BY: LEVAR WOODS
OFFERS: IOWA, BAYLOR, COLORADO STATE, NEBRASKA, NEW MEXICO STATE, TEXAS TECH

Mick Ellis 5'10" 182 Lucas, Texas K
RIVALS: 2 STAR K
ESPN: 3 STAR #28 K
SCOUT: 3 STAR K
247: 2 STAR #15 K, #339 STATE
COMPOSITE: 3 STAR #12 K, #226 STATE
RECRUITED BY: BOBBY KENNEDY, CHRIS WHITE
OFFERS: IOWA, YALE

2014 Offers

Markel Smith 5'11" 210 St. Louis, Missouri RB
COMPOSITE: 3 STAR #26 RB, #8 STATE, #411 OVERALL
TOP 2 IOWA/MIZZOU

Treyvon Hughes 5'11" 208 Carrollton, Texas RB
COMPOSITE: 3 STAR #67 RB, #117 STATE, #933 OVERALL
TOP 2 IOWA/TEXAS (NO OFFER)

Brian Wallace 6'6" 305 St. Louis, Missouri OT
COMPOSITE: 4 STAR #16 T, #3 STATE, #234 OVERALL
TOP 5 ALABAMA/ARKANSAS/IOWA/NEBRASKA/OHIO STATE

Torey Hendrick 6'4" 230 Brooklyn, New York DE
COMPOSITE: 3 STAR #4 DE, #4 STATE, #29 OVERALL JUCO
TOP 5 ARIZONA STATE/IOWA/KANSAS/KANSAS STATE/NCSTATE

Raymond Wingo 5'10" 174 St. Louis, Missouri CB
COMPOSITE: 3 STAR #35 CB, #7 STATE, #394 OVERALL
TOP 5 ARKANSAS/INDIANA/IOWA/MICHIGAN STATE/NEBRASKA

Craig James 5'10" 170 Edwardsville, Illinois CB
COMPOSITE: 3 STAR #74 CB, #33 STATE, #986 OVERALL
IOWA LEADS

Andrew Jones 6'0" 174 Mesquite, Texas CB
IOWA LEADS

Payton Hendrix 6'3" 190 Dallas, Texas S
COMPOSITE: 3 STAR #47 S, #71 STATE, #565 OVERALL
TOP 5 NOTRE DAME/ARKANSAS/BAYLOR/IOWA/STANFORD

Iowa is in on a lot of defensive backs this year, with 13 verbals, not sure how many more players they will take. I'm interested to see if any in-state guys will get offers, some guys to watch are Anthony Holmes, Rico Gafford and A.J. Allen.

2015 Verbals

Jacob Newborg 6'2" 271 Indwood, Iowa OL
RIVALS:
ESPN: 3 STAR G
SCOUT:
247:
COMPOSITE: 3 STAR #26 G, #3 STATE, #485 OVERALL
RECRUITED BY: REESE MORGAN
OFFERS: IOWA

2015 Offers

Jack Beneventi 6'6" 185 Lisle, Illinois QB
COMPOSITE: 4 STAR #16 QB, #4 STATE, #238 OVERALL

Damarkus Lodge 6'3" 190 Cedar Hill, Texas WR
COMPOSITE: 4 STAR #13 WR, #18 STATE, #127 OVERALL

Jaelan Austin 6'3" 190 Grand Prairie, Texas WR
COMPOSITE: 4 STAR #51 WR, #45 STATE, #391 OVERALL

Hale Hentges 6'4" 230 Jefferson City, Missouri TE
COMPOSITE: 4 STAR #10 TE, #4 STATE, #230 OVERALL

Kyle Markway 6'4" 225 St. Louis, Missouri TE

Sam Madden6'7" 305 Barnegat, New Jersey OT
COMPOSITE: 4 STAR #12 T, #5 STATE, #135 OVERALL

Levi Paulsen 6'5" 260 Moville, Iowa OT
COMPOSITE: 4 STAR #25 T, #1 STATE, #206 OVERALL

Landan Paulsen 6'5" 270 Moville, Iowa G
COMPOSITE: 4 STAR #12 G, #2 STATE, #251 OVERALL

James Daniels 6'4" 270 Warren, Ohio C
COMPOSITE: 3 STAR #3 C, #23 STATE, #473 OVERALL

Jashon Cornell 6'4" 245 St. Paul, Minnesota DE
COMPOSITE: 5 STAR #1 DE, #1 STATE, #17 OVERALL

Clelin Ferrell 6'5" 225 Richmond, Virginia DE
COMPOSITE: 4 STAR #6 DE, #6 STATE, #79 OVERALL

James Lockhart 6'3" 245 Ennis, Texas DE
COMPOSITE: 4 STAR #7 DE, #15 STATE, #107 OVERALL

Adam McLean 6'2" 260 Gaithersburg, Maryland DE
COMPOSITE: 4 STAR #8 DE, #2 STATE, #134 OVERALL

Tim Settle 6'3" 305 Manassas, Virginia DT
COMPOSITE: 5 STAR #1 DT, #1 STATE, #2 OVERALL

Jacob Daniel 6'4" 298 Clovis, California DT
COMPOSITE: 5 STAR #5 DT, #3 STATE, #20 OVERALL

Christian Wilkins 6'4" 290 Suffield, Connecticut DT
COMPOSITE: 4 STAR #11 DT, #1 STATE, #66 OVERALL

Justin Hilliard 6'2" 225 Cincinnati, Ohio OLB
COMPOSITE: 4 STAR #5 OLB, #3 STATE, #73 OVERALL

Ricky DeBerry 6'2" 240 Richmond, Virginia OLB
COMPOSITE: 4 STAR #4 OLB, #2 STATE, #53 OVERALL

Juantez McRae 6'0" 170 Towson, Maryland S
COMPOSITE: 4 STAR #22 S, #7 STATE, #324 OVERALL

Jack Hockaday 6'1" 205 Maroa, Illinois S

Jerome Baker 6'1" 205 Cleveland, Ohio ATH
COMPOSITE: 4 STAR #8 ATH, #4 STATE, #83 OVERALL

Garrett Taylor6'1" 186 Richmond, Virginia ATH
COMPOSITE: 4 STAR #14 ATH, #12 STATE, #173 OVERALL

College Football 9/8

It ended up being a nice Saturday of college football yesterday, not only did Iowa and New Mexico snap their losing streaks, USC got upset by Washington State! Iowa had trouble putting away Missouri State, but still came out with the win, and the Lobos stopped UTEP in overtime for their first victory of the season.

The Hawkeyes were favored to beat Missouri State by 24 and were well on their way up 21-0 late until the Bears gave them a bit of a scare. Missouri State scored on a touchdown pass and seconds later Iowa QB, Jake Rudock threw a pick six to put the score at 21-14. The Hawkeyes were able to cross the goal line once more and held on to win 28-14. Iowa racked up a ton of yards, but had trouble scoring. The defense held Missouri State under 200 yards for the game, and only 67 in the first half. Mark Weisman rumbled for 180 yards on 30 carries and a couple of scores. Rudock added two more running touchdowns.

New Mexico was led by running back Kasey Carrier and backup QB Clayton Mitchem. Carrier ran for 291 yards and four touchdowns, including one in overtime that put the score at 42-35. The Lobo defense stopped UTEP short on fourth down to seal the victory.

My Top 25
1-Alabama
2-Ohio State
3-Clemson
4-Oregon
5-Texas A&M
6-Stanford
7-Florida State
8-LSU
9-Michigan
10-Louisville
11-Georgia
12-Oklahoma State
13-Miami
14-Oklahoma
15-Northwestern
16-UCLA
17-South Carolina
18-Florida
19-Wisconsin
20-Washington
21-Nebraska
22-Fresno State
23-Northern Illinois
24-Notre Dame
25-Baylor

Top Games of the Week
Last week I was 6 of 7 on predictions, which makes me 12-5 for the season.

Alabama at Texas A&M: Alabama looks to avenge their only loss from a year ago, but will have a hard time on the road. A&M has looked good in their last six quarters of play and will bring their A game. Texas A&M 31 Alabama 28

UCLA at Nebraska: Nebraska didn't look very sharp against Wyoming, their defense could use some work. I think UCLA pulls the upset. UCLA 27 Nebraska 21

Wisconsin at Arizona State: Wisconsin outscored their first two opponents 93-0, but against a pretty weak schedule. They have three running backs averaging 125 yards/game. Wisconsin 34 Arizona State 28

Tennessee at Oregon: Tennessee hasn't quite turned the corner yet and shouldn't be too much of a challenge for the Ducks. Oregon 48 Tennessee 21

Washington at Illinois: Two of the most surprising teams so far this season. Washington dominated Boise State and Illinois destroyed Cincinnati. Washington 38 Illinois 28

Ole Miss at Texas: BYU shredded Texas' defense yesterday. This should be a good game, I think Texas will bounce back. Texas 27 Ole Miss 24

UCF at Penn State: Both teams come in at 2-0. Penn State 27 UCF 21

TCU at Texas Tech: Good game to kick off the conference slate for both teams. Kliff Kingsbury has a solid walk-on FR QB. Tech 42 TCU 28

Fresno State at Colorado: Colorado is at 2-0 right now, looks like the might be heading in the right direction. Fresno could be a BCS-buster this year. Fresno 42 Colorado 31

Georgia Tech at Duke: Duke looked pretty good last year, and started off 2-0 this season. GT's offense looks sharp. GT 38 Duke 27

Virginia Tech at East Carolina: Va Tech 27 E. Carolina 14

Iowa at Iowa State: Iowa's sloppy win against Missouri State didn't convince anyone that they are better than they were last year, but Iowa State's loss to Northern Iowa made them look a lot worse than last year. Iowa 27 Iowa State 17

New Mexico at Pittsburgh: The Lobos snapped their losing streak behind record-breaking running back Kasey Carrier's 291 yards and four touchdowns. They travel to take on Pittsburgh this week. Pittsburgh 38 New Mexico 27