The Big Ten did not look good on Saturday, watching Iowa and Ball State was painful until the final three minutes when Iowa squeaked out the win. Wisconsin looked bad in the first half, but looked great in the second against Western Illinois. Nebraska needed a huge play by Ameer Adbullah with 30 seconds left to beat McNeese State. Illinois struggled to beat Western Kentucky. Purdue lost to Central Michigan by quite a bit. Michigan State went to Oregon and looked good until late in the third quarter before losing. Ohio State lost their home opener to Virginia Tech. And, of course, Michigan, got shut out by Notre Dame 31-0. It was the first time Michigan had been shut out since 1984 against Iowa!
I watched the New Mexico-Arizona State game from home, I was going to go to the game, but figured it would be a blowout and would rather just watch from home. The Lobos brought in freshmen QB Lamar Jordan for his first action and he actually brought the Lobos back within one score in the first half, but in the second half ASU offense was really clicking and the Lobos lost by five touchdowns. They really need some work on their run defense, the top two rushers in the country have played against New Mexico. They're off this week before heading to New Mexico State for their in-state rivalry game with the undefeated Aggies. What!? Yeah, the Aggies are undefeated.
Here's a look at my top 25
1-Oklahoma 2-0 cruised past Tulsa
2-Oregon 2-0 looked sharp against one of the nation's top defenses
3-Georgia 1-0 had a bye week to gear up for the big one at South Carolina
4-Baylor 2-0 put up huge numbers without Bryce Petty
5-Alabama 2-0 had no problem with FAU, Amari Cooper had a huge game
6-Texas A&M 2-0 73 points in their win over Lamar, way better than I thought they'd be
7-Florida State 2-0 easy win against Citadel, but I still think they need some work
8-USC 2-0 huge win against Stanford, USC could be a real contender
9-Auburn 2-0 crushed San Jose State
10-LSU 2-0 easy win
11-Notre Dame 2-0 looked really good against Michigan, tough schedule this year, but they should be legit
12-Ole Miss 2-0 dominating win at Vanderbilt, looked a lot better than the Boise State game
13-Louisville 2-0 crushed Murray State
14-Michigan State 1-1 lost at Oregon, but they'll bounce back
15-Virginia Tech 2-0 huge win at Ohio State
16-Arizona State 2-0 had their way with New Mexico
17-TCU 1-0 I don't think they played last week
18-UCLA 2-0 looked sluggish again against Memphis at home
19-Stanford 1-1 tough loss against USC, and they have a tough schedule this year
20-Ohio State 1-1 needs to get it going on offense
21-South Carolina 1-1 they kind of struggled with East Carolina, they'll need to play flawless against Georgia to avoid their second loss of the young season
22-BYU 2-0 crushed Texas for the second straight season, Taysom Hill is a great QB
23-Clemson 1-1 easy win
24-Kansas State 2-0 had a nail-biter with Iowa State, but won 32-28. They started strong and took their foot off the gas pedal
25-Wisconsin 1-1 The QB play was much improved, but they struggled in the first half against FCS W. Illinois
Predictions
Last week was a rough one I was 3-4 and I'm 11-7 on the season, here are some top games this week.
E. Carolina at Virginia Tech: East Carolina is a pretty solid team and Va Tech is coming off a huge win.
Va Tech 34 E. Carolina 21
UCF at Missouri: UCF kicked off the season with a loss to Penn State and Missouri is off to a 2-0 start, should be a good game.
Missouri 31 UCF 24
Georgia at South Carolina: This is a must-win for South Carolina if they have any shot at an SEC title.
Georgia 42 South Carolina 27
Iowa State at Iowa: Iowa State has yet to allow a passing td and Iowa is yet to allow a rushing td. Iowa hasn't really established much of a ground game, but I think they'll try early in this one. If Brandon Scherff doesn't play, it's going to be a little more difficult, but Iowa State doesn't have a very experienced DL. I think Iowa creates the balance that they are used to and win this one.
Iowa 28 Iowa State 14
UTSA at Oklahoma State: UTSA looked pretty good against Arizona, but came up short, I think they'll have a decent year. Ok State played Florida State tough and won last week fairly easily.
Oklahoma State 35 UTSA 24
Tennessee at Oklahoma: Both are 2-0 and Tennessee looks much improved over last year, they have some talent, but Oklahoma has more.
Oklahoma 38 Tennessee 21
UCLA vs Texas: I really thought Texas would be a decent team this year and finish in the top half of the Big 12, which they might, but they aren't looking like it right now. UCLA looked like a top ten team before the season started, but after two unconvincing victories they aren't looking like a contender, but I think they'll beat Texas.
UCLA 34 Texas 17
Penn State at Rutgers: This is shaping up to be a big game, with a lot of news this week. Penn State is now eligible for a bowl game and Big Ten championship. Former Rutgers player, Ray Rice, was cut by the Ravens and suspended by the NFL after a tape came out of him punching his sweet lady in an elevator. This is also Rutgers' first conference game in the Big Ten. I have been going back and forth on this one all week. Two of the better offensive players in the conference go head-to-head, Christian Hackenberg and Paul James.
Penn State 31 Rutgers 28
Nevada at Arizona: I like Nevada this year, Cody Fajardo, is a solid QB. This should be a good one.
Arizona 28 Nevada 24
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