2015 Bowl Predictions

Well, it's bowl season! Bowl games start in about two weeks, there are 40 bowl games! Isn't that crazy? There are some 5-7 teams playing in bowl games this year, which is pretty ridiculous. If that trend continues, who knows, Iowa State could even make a bowl game one day.

New Mexico Bowl - Albuquerque, NM

Arizona vs New Mexico
New Mexico 34 Arizona 28

Las Vegas Bowl - Las Vegas, NV

BYU vs Utah
Utah 31 BYU 28

Camellia Bowl - Montgomery, AL

Ohio vs Appalachian State
Appalachian State 35 Ohio 27

Cure Bowl - Orlando, FL

San Jose State vs Georgia State
Georgia State 31 San Jose State 21

New Orleans Bowl - New Orleans, LA

Arkansas State vs Louisiana Tech
Louisiana Tech 38 Arkansas State 27

Miami Beach Bowl - Miami, FL

Western Kentucky vs USF
Western Kentucky 42 USF 34

Idaho Potato Bowl - Boise, ID

Akron vs Utah State
Utah State 24 Akron 21

Boca Raton Bowl - Boca Raton, FL

Toledo vs Temple
Temple 31 Toledo 27

Poinsettia Bowl - San Diego, CA

Boise State vs Northern Illinois
Boise State 31 Northern Illinois 23

GoDaddy Bowl - Mobile, AL

Georgia Southern vs Bowling Green
Bowling Green 31 Georgia Southern 24

Bahamas Bowl - Nassaua, Bahamas

Middle Tennessee vs Western Michigan
Western Michgan 42 Middle Tennessee 31

Hawaii Bowl - Honolulu, HI

San Diego State vs Cincinnati
San Diego State 28 Cincinnati 27

St. Petersburg Bowl - St. Petersburg, FL

UCONN vs Marshall
Marshall 27 UCONN 21

Sun Bowl - El Paso, TX

Miami vs Washington State
Washington State 31 Miami 27

Heart of Dallas Bowl - Dallas, TX

Washington vs Southern Miss
Washington 42 Southern Miss 28

Pinstripe Bowl - Bronx, NY

Indiana vs Duke
Duke 31 Indiana 28

Independence Bowl - Shreveport, LA

Tulsa vs Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech 34 Tulsa 31

Foster Farms Bowl - Santa Clara, CA

UCLA vs Nebraska
Nebraska 31 UCLA 28

Military Bowl - Annapolis, MD

Pittsburgh vs Navy
Pittsburgh 28 Navy 24

Quick Lane Bowl - Detroit, MI

Central Michigan vs Minnesota
Minnesota 35 Central Michigan 21

Armed Forces Bowl - Fort Worth, TX

California vs Air Force
California 42 Air Force 31

Russell Athletic Bowl - Orlando, FL

North Carolina vs Baylor
North Carolina 38 Baylor 31

Arizona Bowl - Tucson, AZ

Nevada vs Colorado State
Colorado State 31 Nevada 21

Texas Bowl - Houston, TX

LSU vs Texas Tech
LSU 27 Texas Tech 24

Birmingham Bowl - Birmingham, AL

Auburn vs Memphis
Memphis 35 Auburn 27

Belk Bowl - Charlotte, NC

NC State vs Mississippi State
Mississippi State 31 NC State 30

Music City Bowl - Nashville, TN

Texas A&M vs Louisville
Texas A&M 38 Louisville 27

Holiday Bowl - San Diego, CA

USC vs Wisconsin
Wisconsin 28 USC 24

Peach Bowl - Atlanta, GA

Houston vs Florida State
Florida State 38 Houston 27

Outback Bowl - Tampa, FL

Northwestern vs Tennessee
Tennessee 31 Northwestern 21

Citrus Bowl - Orlando, FL

Michigan vs Florida
Michigan 28 Florida 14

Fiesta Bowl - Glendale, AZ

Notre Dame vs Ohio State
Ohio State 31 Notre Dame 23

Rose Bowl - Pasadena, CA

Iowa vs Stanford
Iowa 34 Stanford 27

Sugar Bowl - New Orleans, LA

Oklahoma State vs Ole Miss
Ole Miss 42 Oklahoma State 27

TaxSlayer Bowl - Jacksonville, FL

Penn State vs Georgia
Georgia 17 Penn State 13

Liberty Bowl - Memphis, TN

Kansas State vs Arkansas
Arkansas 35 Kansas State 21

Alamo Bowl - San Antonio, TX

Oregon vs TCU
Oregon 52 TCU 42

Cactus Bowl - Phoenix, AZ

West Virginia vs Arizona State
Arizona State 38 West Virginia 30

Capital One Bowl - Miami Gardens, FL (Playoff)

Oklahoma vs Clemson
Oklahoma 31 Clemson 27

Cotton Bowl - Arlington, TX (Playoff)

Michigan State vs Alabama
Alabama 24 Michigan State 17

National Championship - Glendale, AZ

Alabama vs Oklahoma
Alabama 31 Oklahoma 28

College Football Week 15

Well, the Hawkeyes couldn't quite pull it off in Indianapolis, but they gained a lot of respect nationally for their close loss. Most people gave Iowa no chance to beat Michigan State, but they were within 30 seconds of pulling it off. What an amazing game, it felt like the Super Bowl for me. I've been in Iowa fan for 30 years and no game has ever felt like this one. It was amazing to see the Iowa fans in the stands, way more than Michigan State. The game was a low scoring slugfest, the teams traded field goals heading into the 4th quarter when C.J. Beathard hit Tevaun Smith for a huge 85 yard pass, the game's first touchdown. Iowa led 13-9 with about nine minutes left before Michigan State scored with 27 seconds left on the clock. The Hawkeyes magic ran out. It was a tough heart-breaking loss, but even in defeat I couldn't have been more proud to be a Hawkeye fan. The way they went toe-to-toe with a team they had no chance at beating.

The Hawkeyes were selected to play in the Rose Bowl against Stanford, as the playoff committee ranked them ahead of Ohio State. It makes me wonder, if Clemson would have lost to North Carolina, would they have selected Iowa as the number four team? That doesn't matter though, the Rose Bowl is a huge accomplishment and one of the most exciting games for the Hawks. One of my first memories of watching Iowa football was in 1985, I was just five-years-old, but I remember Chuck Long with a rose sticker on his cheek. I also remember a record that we had, there was a song about the Hawkeyes. Tyler Luebke, a former Iowa player, actually posted the song on twitter the other day. It was crazy to hear that again, brought back a lot of memories of watching the Hawkeyes when I was younger.

It was a great Saturday for football. I was so excited for the Iowa game that I didn't watch much of any of the other games. There are some great bowl match ups set up, too. I can't wait for bowl season to start! I'll put out my predictions soon. I usually end up doing them too early before players get suspended or injured and miss the game, but I'll still do predictions soon. I think I'm going to try to make it to the New Mexico Bowl and support the Lobos! They are playing against Arizona. The last time New Mexico made a bowl game was 2007, and I got to perform for the football team as part of their bowl game festivities, it was a blast! I got to meet a lot of the players and the head coach, Rocky Long, he was super nice, as was his wife. I also root for him at San Diego State! They had a great season.

Here's a look at my new top 25 and my Heisman list. They announced the finalists today: McCaffrey, Henry and Watson. I thought Fournette should have gotten a shot, too, but I'm not an expert, so it doesn't matter.

New Top 25
1-Clemson 13-0 beat North Carolina
2-Alabama 12-1 beat Florida
3-Michigan State 12-1 beat Iowa
4-Oklahoma 11-1 did not play
5-Iowa 12-1 lost to Michigan State
6-Ohio State 11-1 did not play
7-Stanford 11-2 beat USC
8-Florida State 10-2 did not play
9-Oregon 9-3 did not play
10-Notre Dame 10-2 did not play
11-TCU 10-2 did not play
12-Northwestern 10-2 did not play
13-North Carolina 11-2 lost to Clemson
14-Ole Miss 9-3 did not play
15-Michigan 9-3 did not play
16-Oklahoma State 10-2 did not play
17-Houston 12-1 beat Temple
18-Wisconsin 9-3 did not play
19-Western Kentucky 11-2 beat Southern Miss
20-Utah 9-3 did not play
21-Navy 10-2 did not play
22-Baylor 9-3 lost to Texas
23-Florida 10-3 lost to Alabama
24-LSU 8-3 did not play
25-Temple 10-3 lost to Houston

I was 6-1 in my predictions which put me at 102-46 for the season

Heisman Watch
Christian McCaffrey had another great game as Stanford knocked off USC in the Pac-12 championship game, so I'm giving him the nod for the Heisman this year.

Christian McCaffrey RB/Ret Stanford
vs USC: 32-207-1 4-105-1 120 Kr Yds 29 Pr Yds and a passing td
Season: 1,847-8 41-540-4 1,042-1 Kr 67 Pr Yds

Derrick Henry RB Alabama
vs Florida: 44-189-1
Season: 1,986-23 10-97

Leonard Fournette RB LSU
Season: 1,741-18 18-209

Deshaun Watson QB Clemson
vs North Carolina: 42-26-289-3-1 24-131-2
Season: 3,504-29-11 887-11

Ezekiel Elliott RB Ohio State
Season: 1,672-19 26-176

Dalvin Cook RB Florida State
Season: 1,662-18 22-218-1

Baker Mayfield QB Oklahoma
Season: 3,389-35-5 420-7

Corey Coleman WR Baylor
vs Texas: 7-49
Season: 74-1,363-20

College Football Week 14

Well, the Hawkeyes did it! A 12-0 regular season. I'm still in shock. Not all of the games have been pretty, but I love this team. They haven't trailed in the fourth quarter at all this year and they haven't trailed in a game since the Illinois game on October 10th. That's pretty impressive even if they have had a "weak schedule." The Iowa offense wasn't sharp against Nebraska, but they got a couple of huge runs from Jordan Canzeri and forced Tommy Armstrong to throw four interceptions to help seal their perfect season.

This is one of my favorite Hawkeye teams that I've ever watched. They play hard and they play as a team...and they keep winning. As I've said before, I have come to realize that Iowa will probably never win a national championship in football in my lifetime, and I'm ok with that, as long as they keep producing winning seasons and putting players in the NFL. They're always fun to watch. A national championship would be pretty amazing, but there are certainly teams that could beat them this year. I do think they have a great shot at beating Michigan State on Saturday if they can cause them to make mistakes. The Hawkeyes and Spartans are pretty similar teams and it should be a good matchup. They have three similar opponents this year: Purdue, Nebraska and Indiana. Iowa beat all three, obviously, and Michigan State lost to Nebraska. Iowa beat Purdue by 20, the Spartans only beat them by 3; but Michigan State beat Indiana by 26 and the Hawkeyes beat them by 8. Iowa will have to play flawless to win. Go Hawkeyes!



New Top 25
1-Clemson 12-0 beat South Carolina/vs North Carolina (ACC Title Game)
2-Alabama 11-1 beat Auburn/vs Florida (SEC Title Game)
3-Iowa 12-0 beat Nebraska/vs Michigan State (Big Ten Title Game)
4-Oklahoma 11-1 beat Oklahoma State/off
5-Michigan State 11-1 beat Penn State/vs Iowa (Big Ten Title Game)
6-Ohio State 11-1 beat Michigan/off
7-North Carolina 11-1 beat NC State/vs Clemson (ACC Title Game)
8-Stanford 10-2 beat Notre Dame/vs USC (Pac 12 Title Game)
9-Florida State 10-2 beat Florida/off
10-Oregon 9-3 beat Oregon State/off
11-Notre Dame 10-2 lost to Stanford/off
12-TCU 10-2 beat Baylor/off
13-Northwestern 10-2 beat Illinois/off
14-Ole Miss 9-3 beat Mississippi State/off
15-Michigan 9-3 lost to Ohio State/off
16-Baylor 9-2 lost to TCU/Texas
17-Florida 10-2 lost to Florida State/vs Alabama (SEC Title Game)
18-Oklahoma State 10-2 lost to Oklahoma/off
19-Houston 11-1 beat Navy/vs Temple (AAC Title Game)
20-Temple 10-2 beat UCONN/vs Houston (AAC Title Game)
21-Wisconsin 9-3 beat Minnesota/off
22-Western Kentucky 10-2 beat Marshall/vs Southern Miss (C-USA Title Game)
23-Utah 9-3 beat Colorado/off
24-Navy 10-2 lost to Houston/off
25-LSU 8-3 beat Texas A&M/off

Top Games
I was 8-5 last week, I'm 96-45 for the season.

AAC Championship Game - Temple vs. Houston: I haven't seen Temple play, but I did watch the Houston-Navy game and I was very impressed with Houston. Houston 35 Temple 27

ACC Championship Game - Clemson vs. North Carolina: Part of me wants to pick North Carolina to win this one, do they have enough defense to knock off Clemson? North Carolina 34 Clemson 31

Big Ten Championship Game - Michigan State vs. Iowa: No one is expecting Iowa to win, but I think they matchup well with Michigan State and they'll hang with them. Michigan State 21 Iowa 20

Conference USA Championship Game - Western Kentucky vs. Southern Miss: Western Kentucky is good. Western Kentucky 45 Southern Miss 31

MAC Championship Game - Bowling Green vs. Northern Illinois: This is a huge toss up game, but I think Bowling Green will pull it off. Bowling Green 34 Northern Illinois 28

Mountain West Championship Game - Air Force vs. San Diego State: San Diego State finished the regular season undefeated in conference play and I don't see them losing to Air Force. San Diego State 31 Air Force 27

Pac 12 Championship Game - Stanford vs. USC: Stanford is playing at a high level right now and I don't think USC can beat them. They'll play them tough, but Stanford will pull away. Stanford 34 USC 24

SEC Championship Game - Florida vs. Alabama: I think this one is a no-brainer. Florida has played awful the last couple of weeks and have zero offense. Alabama 27 Florida 3


Heisman Watch
Derrick Henry RB Alabama
vs Auburn: 46-271-1
Season: 1,797-22 10-97

Leonard Fournette RB LSU
vs Texas A&M: 32-159-1 4-43
Season: 1,741-18 18-209

Christian McCaffrey RB Stanford
vs Notre Dame: 27-94 3-19 109 KR 6 PR
Season: 1,640-7 37-435-3 922-1 KR 38 PR

Ezekiel Elliott RB Ohio State
vs Michigan: 30-214-2 2-7
Season: 1,672-19 26-176

Dalvin Cook RB Florida State
vs Florida: 26-183-2 3-11
Season: 1,662-18 22-218-1

Baker Mayfield QB Oklahoma
vs Oklahoma State: 25-17-180-2-0 11-77-1
Season: 3,389-35-5 420-7

Deshaun Watson QB Clemson
vs South Carolina: 27-20-279-1-0 21-114-3
Season: 3,215-26-10 756-9

Corey Coleman WR Baylor
vs TCU: 1-8 3-5 rush
Season: 67-1,314-20

Trevone Boykin QB TCU
vs Baylor: 33-18-148-2-1 14-16-1
Season: 3,575-31-10 612-9

Playoff Watch
Had a few teams get knocked out of the race this weekend. Here are the teams still standing.
Clemson 12-0 a win over North Carolina will solidify their spot, but North Carolina has been playing at a high level. A loss will probably knock them out.

North Carolina 11-1 will have a shot to knock off number one Clemson, if they do, will they make the playoffs?

Michigan State 11-1 knocked off Ohio State after a tough loss to Nebraska. If the Spartans beat Iowa in the conference title game, they'll be in.

Ohio State 11-1 they'll have to sit and wait to see what will happen. If Clemson and Alabama both lose, could the Buckeyes earn a spot? Would the playoffs take two Big Ten teams?

Iowa 12-0 pretty simple, win and you're in. Nobody is expecting them to win, but they'll make it a game.

Oklahoma 11-1 huge win against Oklahoma State should have the Sooners in the playoff.

Alabama 11-1 knocked off Auburn, a win over Florida will get them in.

College Football Week 13

The Iowa Hawkeyes are one of two undefeated teams left in college football. Definitely something I didn't think I would type this season. The Hawkeyes are 11-0 for the first time in school history and have a shot to make the college football playoffs. Saturday they played Purdue and got off to a quick start, up 20-0 just a minute into the second quarter. Iowa safety, Jordan Lomax, knocked out Purdue's QB, and their backup, Austin Appleby, ended up doing pretty well, bringing the score to 20-13. The Boilermakers were actually able to move the ball with him in the game. The Hawkeyes took over in the second half and won 40-20. The running game didn't do as well as they should have against a very poor Purdue run defense. Jordan Canzeri did break off a 42 yard touchdown run late. C.J. Beathard was pretty sharp throwing the ball and added three touchdowns with no interceptions. The Hawkeyes will travel to Nebraska to pound the Huskers.

In the afternoon I went to the Colorado State-New Mexico game at University Stadium in Albuquerque. The Lobos got off to a rough start throwing an interception, the Rams scored shortly after to take a 7-0 lead. The game was pretty back and forth the rest of the way. New Mexico came up short in the end, Lamar Jordan's three interceptions were too much to overcome. Had the Lobos won the turnover battle, they probably would have won the game. They fell to 6-5 on the season and close it out with a home game against division champs, Air Force.



New Top 25
1-Clemson 11-0 beat Wake Forest/at South Carolina
2-Alabama 10-1 beat Charleston Southern/at Auburn
3-Iowa 11-0 beat Purdue/at Nebraska
4-Notre Dame 10-1 beat Boston College/at Stanford
5-Oklahoma 10-1 beat TCU/at Oklahoma State
6-Michigan State 10-1 beat Ohio State/Penn State
7-Florida 10-1 beat FAU/Florida State
8-Michigan 9-2 beat Penn State/Ohio State
9-Ohio State 10-1 lost to Michigan State/at Michigan
10-Baylor 9-1 beat Oklahoma State/at TCU
11-Oklahoma State 10-1 lost to Baylor/Oklahoma
12-North Carolina 10-1 beat Virginia Tech/at NC State
13-Navy 9-1 beat Tulsa/at Houston
14-Stanford 9-2 beat California/Notre Dame
15-Florida State 9-2 beat Chattanooga/at Florida
16-Oregon 8-3 beat USC/Oregon State
17-TCU 9-2 lost to Oklahoma/Baylor
18-Northwestern 9-2 beat Wisconsin/Illinois
19-Ole Miss 8-3 beat LSU/at Mississippi State
20-Washington State 8-3 beat Colorado/at Washington
21-Texas A&M 8-3 beat Vanderbilt/LSU
22-Toledo 9-1 beat Bowling Green/Western Michigan
23-Houston 10-1 lost to UCONN/Navy
24-UCLA 8-3 beat Utah/at USC
25-Temple 9-2 beat Memphis/UCONN

Top Games
I was 6-3 last week, 88-40 on the season.

Iowa at Nebraska: Iowa is looking to finish the regular season undefeated with the Bugeaters standing in their way. Nebraska is 5-6, but they've had some very close losses and a huge win over Michigan State. They did lose to Purdue though. Iowa is looking to avenge last year's loss. Iowa 34 Nebraska 24

Notre Dame at Stanford: Notre Dame really struggled with Boston College and could have a really difficult time at Stanford. Christian McCaffery has been amazing lately. Stanford 31 Notre Dame 24

Oklahoma at Oklahoma State: Oklahoma is still one of the hottest teams in the country and Oklahoma State is coming off of their first loss of the season. Oklahoma 38 Oklahoma State 31

Penn State at Michigan State: If the Spartans win, they will play Iowa for the Big Ten title. Michigan State 24 Penn State 17

Florida State at Florida: Florida looked awful against FAU, but got the win in overtime. Florida State 27 Florida 21

Ohio State at Michigan: The winner of this will win the division if Penn State can upset Michigan State. Ohio State 24 Michigan 21

Baylor at TCU: TCU has lost two in a row, but almost knocked off Oklahoma without two of their best players. Baylor handed Oklahoma State their first loss of the year with a third string QB playing a majority of the snaps. This will be a high scoring game. Baylor 45 TCU 42

North Carolina at NC State: North Carolina still has an outside shot at the college football playoff, but they'll need to get a win at NC State first, which won't be easy. North Carolina 34 NC State 31

Navy at Houston: Winner will win the division. Houston was upset by UCONN last week, ending their perfect season. Navy 38 Houston 31

Ole Miss at Mississippi State: Ole Miss whooped LSU and Mississippi State won a wild game against Arkansas. Ole Miss 34 Mississippi State 28

LSU at Texas A&M: LSU has lost three in a row and A&M has been pretty solid. Fournette will need a big game if he wants to win the Heisman. Texas A&M 38 LSU 27

UCLA at USC: Winner here will get to play Stanford for the Pac 12 title. UCLA 27 USC 21

Air Force at New Mexico: If you like option teams, here are two fun ones to watch. They've combined for over 6,000 rushing yards so far this year. Air Force 38 New Mexico 28


Heisman Watch
Derrick Henry RB Alabama
vs Charleston Southern: 9-68-2 1-28
Season: 1,526-21 10-97

Leonard Fournette RB LSU
vs Ole Miss: 25-108 4-72
Season: 1,582-17 14-166

Christian McCaffery RB Stanford
vs California: 29-192 1-49-1 148-1 KR
Season: 1,546-7 34-416-3 813-1 KR 32 PR

Corey Coleman WR Baylor
vs Oklahoma State: 5-77 3-21 Rush
Season: 66-1,306-20

Ezekiel Elliott RB Ohio State
vs Michigan State: 12-33-1
Season: 1,458-17 24-169

Dalvin Cook RB Florida State
vs Chattanooga: 15-106-2 1-5
Season: 1,475-16 19-207-1

Baker Mayfield QB Oklahoma
vs TCU: 20-9-127-2-0 10-42
Season: 3,209-33-5 343-6

Trevone Boykin QB TCU
did not play
Season: 3,427-29-9 596-8

Deshaun Watson QB Clemson
vs Wake Forest: 35-24-343-3-2 10-44-1
Season: 2,936-25-10 642-6

Playoff Watch
There are only two undefeated teams left, Clemson and Iowa. Here are the teams with zero and one loss.

Clemson 11-0 this week they'll play at South Carolina, who just lost to The Citadel, and then North Carolina for the conference title.

North Carolina 10-1 only loss this year is South Carolina, which is a bad loss. This week they'll travel to NC State and then Clemson in the conference championship.

Michigan State 10-1 just knocked off Ohio State, this week they'll take on Penn State. If they win, they'll take on Iowa for the Big Ten title.

Ohio State 10-1 they'll need Penn State to win and they'll have to win at Michigan this week for a shot at the conference title.

Iowa 11-0 this week they'll play at Nebraska before playing for the conference title. If they win out, they should be in the playoff.

Baylor 9-1 just knocked off Oklahoma State. A win at TCU this week would be huge, a loss will knock them out.

Oklahoma 10-1 huge win over TCU and they'll close out with a big game at Oklahoma State. Winner could have a shot at the playoff.

Oklahoma State 10-1 lost their first game of the season, Oklahoma this week.

Florida 10-1 barely knocked off FAU, they play Florida State and Alabama. They'll lost at least one.

Alabama 10-1 takes on Auburn this week before the conference title game against Florida.

Notre Dame 10-1 closes out at Stanford.

College Football Week 12

Saturday night was one of the more amazing sports nights in my lifetime. I watched Iowa beat Minnesota with about 50 other Hawkeye fans at Spectators! What a great game! Huge win for Iowa. Shortly after that, Albuquerque's Holly Holm, pulled off a huge upset, knocking out Ronda Rousey in the second round. Less than an hour after that, as 30 point underdogs, the New Mexico Lobos beat Boise State 31-24 in Boise to become bowl eligible and gave them a shot to win their division! Not to mention, the Iowa wrestling team beat Oklahoma State 18-16 in front of 42,000 people at Kinnick Stadium earlier that morning. Such a cool event, was so much fun to watch. Sammy Brooks had a huge win, helping the Hawkeyes seal the victory!

The football game was amazing. Iowa controlled the game, but there were some moments where it seemed like Minnesota could have had a shot. LeShun Daniels had a huge game and finally looks 100%. He nearly cracked the 200 yard mark, which would have made him the third Iowa running back to do so this year. He was five yards shy. C.J. Beathard continues to impress me. He's been so banged up this year, but he keeps playing and never gives up. The defense struggled a bit with Minnesota, Mitch Leidner looks much better as a passer this year than he did last year. The defensive line really had a hard time getting any decent pass rush and LB Cole Fisher seemed out of place way too many times. Josey Jewell continues to impress though. He collected another 12 tackles, he has 27 in the last two games! The team is really missing Drew Ott right now. If Ott was healthy, I would give Iowa a shot at winning the Big Ten title game, but it's going to be too difficult without a pass rush. But, they're still 10-0 for the first time in school history and they still have a shot at that conference crown and maybe more! Playing in the Rose Bowl would be huge! Go Hawkeyes!



New Top 25
1-Clemson 10-0 beat Syracuse/vs Wake Forest
2-Ohio State 10-0 beat Illinois/vs Michigan State
3-Alabama 9-1 beat Mississippi State/vs Charleston Southern
4-Oklahoma State 10-0 beat Iowa State/vs Baylor
5-Notre Dame 9-1 beat Wake Forest/vs Boston College (at Fenway Park)
6-Iowa 10-0 beat Minnesota/vs Purdue
7-Florida 9-1 beat South Carolina/vs FAU
8-Oklahoma 9-1 beat Baylor/vs TCU
9-TCU 9-1 beat Kansas/at Oklahoma
10-Michigan State 9-1 beat Maryland/at Ohio State
11-Houston 10-0 beat Memphis/at UCONN
12-Michigan 8-2 beat Indiana/at Penn State
13-Baylor 8-1 lost to Oklahoma/at Oklahoma State
14-North Carolina 9-1 beat Miami/at Virginia Tech
15-Wisconsin 8-2 did not play/vs Northwestern
16-Navy 8-1 beat SMU/at Tulsa
17-Stanford 8-2 lost to Oregon/vs California
18-Florida State 8-2 beat NC State/vs Chattanooga
19-Oregon 7-3 beat Stanford/vs USC
20-Northwestern 8-2 beat Purdue/at Wisconsin
21-Utah 8-2 lost to Arizona/vs UCLA
22-LSU 7-2 lost to Arkansas/at Ole Miss
23-Ole Miss 7-3 did not play/vs LSU
24-Washington State 7-3 beat UCLA/vs Colorado
25-Texas A&M 7-3 beat Western Carolina/at Vanderbilt




This Week's Top Games
Last week I was 7-3, I'm not at 82-37 for the season! Not too bad.

Michigan State at Ohio State: Huge game for the Big Ten this weekend. Michigan State hasn't looked quite as sharp this year, and Ohio State has looked really solid as of late. Ohio State 34 Michigan State 24

Baylor at Oklahoma State: I've seen Oklahoma State play once this year and that was this past weekend at Iowa State, and they did not look good at all despite scoring late and securing the victory. I don't like to judge teams based on one game though. I've seen Baylor play a few times and they'll definitely put up a lot of points. Baylor 52 Oklahoma State 45

Purdue at Iowa: Purdue has played some teams pretty tough this year, but at times they just look awful. The Hawkeyes are really playing at a high level, putting up 40 on a pretty decent Minnesota defense. Iowa 38 Purdue 17

TCU at Oklahoma: TCU barely made it past Kansas last week and Oklahoma went to Baylor and won. Oklahoma is on a mission right now. Oklahoma 42 TCU 31

Northwestern at Wisconsin: This should be a classic Big Ten matchup, the winner will probably hang around the top 25 for the rest of the season. Wisconsin 17 Northwestern 13

California at Stanford: Stanford was eliminated from playoff hopes last weekend, but they will still win the division and play for the Pac 12 title game. Stanford 31 Cal 24

USC at Oregon: This is a big game for both teams. USC has a shot to win the division and a win at Oregon will certainly help. Oregon cracked the top 25 after being absent for awhile after some tough losses. Oregon 38 USC 34

LSU at Ole Miss: Both teams are looking to get back in the win column. LSU hasn't impressed me in the games I've watched them in. If Ole Miss can play like they did against Alabama they'll win easily, but they could also play like the team that played against Florida. This one is a toss up, I'll go with the home team. Ole Miss 24 LSU 21

Colorado State at New Mexico: The Lobos are bowl eligible! Not only that, but if they win their final two games, they'll play in the Mountain West title game. I can't believe I just typed that. I'll probably actually go to this game and show some love! New Mexico 28 Colorado State 23


Heisman Watch

Derrick Henry RB Alabama
vs Miss St: 22-204-2 1-0
Season: 1,458-19 9-69

Baker Mayfield QB Oklahoma
vs Baylor: 34-24-270-3-1 15-76-1
Season: 3,082-31-5 301-6

Leonard Fournette RB LSU
vs Arkansas: 19-91-1 3-36
Season: 1,474-17 10-94

Ezekiel Elliott RB Ohio State
vs Illinois: 27-181-2
Season: 1,425-16 24-169

Corey Coleman WR Baylor
vs Oklahoma: 3-51
Season: 61-1,229-20

Christian McCaffery RB Stanford
vs Oregon: 33-147-1 5-42 60 Kr Yds -5 Pr Yds
Season: 1,354-7 33-367-2 665 Kr Yds 32 Pr Yds

Trevone Boykin QB TCU
vs Kansas: 8-5-54-0-0 1-(-2)
Season: 3,427-29-9 596-8

Dalvin Cook RB Florida State
vs NC State: 22-138-2 2-17
Season: 1,369-14 18-202-1

Deshaun Watson QB Clemson
vs Syracuse: 47-34-360-2-1 14-105-1
Season: 2,593-23-8 598-5

Also keep an eye our for Washington State's QB, Falk, if they keep winning he might move up a bit. I think Baker Mayfield needs more love nationally, he's been killing it since their loss to Texas, Oklahoma is one of the hottest teams in the country right now.


Playoff Watch

Things certainly got more interesting this week. The Pac 12's top teams, Stanford and Utah, were both knocked off and now they don't have any teams in the playoff hunt. I don't see any two loss teams making it this year. Here are the teams who, in my opinion, still have a shot.

Houston 10-0 knocked off Memphis last week to remain undefeated. They still have a tough game with Navy coming up, and the AAC title game.

Clemson 10-0 toughest remaining regular season game is at South Carolina, which should be a win. Clemson vs North Carolina for the ACC title game could be a good one.

North Carolina 9-1 they finish with two road games, at Virginia Tech and at North Carolina State, no easy wins for the Tar Heels.

Michigan State 9-1 playing at Ohio State this weekend, their playoff hopes might go out the window.

Ohio State 10-0 still have two tough games, vs Michigan State and at Michigan. Can the Buckeyes stay undefeated?

Iowa 10-0 shouldn't have a problem with Purdue this weekend, but at Nebraska could be a tough one. Nebraska is one game away from bowl eligibility.

Baylor 8-1 lost to Oklahoma last week and still have at Oklahoma State and at TCU the next couple of weeks. They probably won't survive.

Oklahoma 9-1 I think they're playing at a high level right now and they need to keep that up. They close out with TCU at home and at Oklahoma State.

TCU 9-1 finishes at Oklahoma and home against Baylor. Will any of the Big 12 teams make the playoff?

Oklahoma State 10-0 right now the Cowboys are the Big 12's best bet for the playoff and they finish with home games against Baylor and Oklahoma. Should be an interesting finish.

Florida 9-1 they'll finish with home games against FAU and Florida State before taking on Alabama for the SEC title.

Alabama 9-1 they're on a roll right now and that should continue until their matchup with Florida.

Notre Dame 9-1 Boston College usually gives Notre Dame a good game and they still have to travel to Stanford. Can the Irish finish 11-1 and make the playoff?

College Football Week 11

The Iowa Hawkeyes moved to 9-0 on the season for the second time in their history. The last time was in 2009 when they reached the Orange Bowl and knocked off Georgia Tech. As an Iowa fan, it's still hard to believe that they keep winning, especially since expectations were somewhat low for this season. Quarterback, C.J. Beathard, has a lot to do with that. He keeps doing things to win ball games, and Desmond King is having an all-american season with eight interceptions, which is tied for a school record. The Hawkeyes knocked off Indiana 35-27 on Saturday. I didn't get a chance to watch the game yet.

The New Mexico Lobos pulled off a huge upset against Utah State on Saturday, holding them to under 300 yards in a 14-13 victory. The Lobos are now one game from becoming bowl eligible!

Top 25

1-Clemson 9-0 beat Florida State/at Syracuse
2-Ohio State 9-0 beat Minnesota/at Illinois
3-Baylor 8-0 beat Kansas State/vs Oklahoma
4-Alabama 8-1 beat LSU/at Mississippi State
5-Oklahoma State 9-0 beat TCU/at Iowa State
6-Notre Dame 8-1 beat Pitt/vs Wake Forest
7-Iowa 9-0 beat Indiana/vs Minnesota
8-Stanford 8-1 beat Colorado/vs Oregon
9-Florida 8-1 beat Vanderbilt/at South Carolina
10-Utah 8-1 beat Washington/at Arizona
11-LSU 7-1 lost to Alabama/vs Arkansas
12-TCU 8-1 lost to Oklahoma State/vs Kansas
13-Oklahoma 8-1 beat Iowa State/at Baylor
14-Michigan State 8-1 lost to Nebraska/vs Maryland
15-Houston 9-0 beat Cincinnati/vs Memphis
16-Michigan 7-2 beat Rutgers/at Indiana
17-North Carolina 8-1 beat Duke/vs Miami
18-Wisconsin 8-2 beat Maryland/off
19-Navy 7-1 beat Memphis/vs SMU
20-Temple 8-1 beat SMU/at USF
21-Mississippi State 7-2 beat Missouri/vs Alabama
22-Memphis 8-1 lost to Navy/at Houston
23-UCLA 7-2 beat Oregon State/vs Washington State
24-Florida State 7-2 lost to Clemson/vs NC State
25-Boise State 7-2 did not play/vs New Mexico

Top Games

I was 8-3 last week, 75-34 on the season

Oklahoma at Baylor: Oklahoma is one of the hottest teams in the country since their loss to Texas. Baylor struggled to get past Kansas State last week. Oklahoma 38 Baylor 31

Alabama at Mississippi State: Alabama is playing at a high level right now, can Mississippi State pull off the upset? Alabama 27 Mississippi State 21

Minnesota at Iowa: The Hawkeyes are on a roll right now, and they're looking to get revenge from last year's 51-14 loss to Minnesota. Iowa 31 Minnesota 27

Oregon at Stanford: Oregon is looking to get back on the national stage and a win at Stanford would certainly help. Oregon 31 Stanford 28

Florida at South Carolina: Florida struggled with Vanderbilt last week, will they look better at South Carolina? Florida 21 South Carolina 17

Utah at Arizona: Arizona is fighting for bowl eligibility, can they knock off the Utes? Utah 31 Arizona 24

Memphis at Houston: Memphis was handed their first loss of the season last week and Houston is still unbeaten. Houston 38 Memphis 31

Miami at North Carolina: North Carolina is looking pretty sharp right now and has a shot to win the division. North Carolina 35 Miami 27

New Mexico at Boise State: The Lobos need one more win to make a bowl game for the first time since Rocky Long was coach. Boise State 45 New Mexico 28

Pittsburgh at Duke: Both teams need a win badly right now. Pitt still has an outside shot to win the division. Duke 28 Pittsburgh 27

Heisman Watch

Derrick Henry RB Alabama
vs LSU: 38-210-3
Season: 1,254-17 8-69

Corey Coleman WR Baylor
vs Kansas State: 11-216-2
Season: 58-1,178-20

Leonard Fournette RB LSU
vs Alabama: 19-31-1
Season: 1,383-16 7-58

Ezekiel Elliott RB Ohio State
vs Minnesota: 26-114-1 1-9
Season: 1,244-14 24-169

Baker Mayfield QB Oklahoma
vs Iowa State: 31-23-342-3-0 10-27-1
Season: 2,812-28-4 22-5-5

Trevone Boykin QB TCU
vs Oklahoma State: 57-35-445-1-4 19-73-2
Season: 3,372-39-9 597-8

Christian McCaffery RB Stanford
vs Colorado: 23-147 3-15 46 kr yds 12 pr yds pass td
Season: 1,207-6 280325-2 605 kr yds 37 pr yds pass td

Dalvin Cook RB Florida State
vs Clemson: 21-194-1 1-4
Season: 1,231-12 16-185-1

Playoff Watch

Houston 9-0 (Memphis/at UCONN/Navy)
Clemson 9-0 (at Syracuse/Wake Forest/at South Carolina)
North Carolina 8-1 (Miami/at Va Tech/at NC State)
Michigan State 8-1 (Maryland/at Ohio State/Penn State)
Ohio State 9-0 (at Illinois/Michigan State/at Michigan)
Iowa 9-0 (Minnesota/Purdue/at Nebraska)
Baylor 8-0 (Oklahoma/at Oklahoma State/at TCU/Texas)
Oklahoma 8-1 (at Baylor/TCU/at Oklahoma State)
Oklahoma State 9-0 (at Iowa State/Baylor/Oklahoma)
TCU 8-1 (Kansas/at Oklahoma/Baylor)
Stanford 8-1 (Oregon/Cal/Notre Dame)
Utah 8-1 (at Arizona/UCLA/Colorado)
Florida 8-1 (at South Carolina/FAU/Florida State)
Alabama 8-1 (at Miss St/Ch Southern/at Auburn)
LSU 7-1 (Arkansas/at Ole Miss/A&M)
Notre Dame 8-1 (Wake Forest/Boston College/at Stanford)

College Football Week 10

Another week and another Iowa Hawkeye victory! They got off to a quick start and had three running backs each rush for a touchdown in the first half. Turnovers helped seal the win 31-15. Maryland's QB Perry Hills was able to run against Iowa, but he was held in check passing the ball. Miles Taylor played the best game of his young career against his home state. He recovered a fumble and intercepted a pass. He also collected eight tackles, and that dude can hit! The Hawkeye defense has been pretty incredible this year. Oklahoma State allowed 53 points against Texas Tech on Saturday, Iowa has only allowed 51 in their four conference games. C.J. Beathard was once again not 100% and I doubt he will be for awhile. He missed on some throws, but had a couple of nice ones. Tight End George Kittle had a huge one handed grab early in the game which sparked some momentum. Desmond King sealed the deal with an 88 yard interception return for a touchdown, his seventh interception of the season. He's one away from tying the school record, which is held by Lou King and Nile Kinnick.

The Hawkeyes travel to Bloomington, Indiana, this weekend to take on Indiana. The Hoosiers have a solid offense, led by QB Nate Sudfeld, but they're defense is awful. I think Iowa will win by a couple of touchdowns.

There were some crazy finishes on Saturday. Miami used eight laterals on a kickoff to knock off Duke on the road, although the play should have been called dead when one of the players' knees hit the ground. That game knocked Duke out of the playoff race. They still have a shot at the division if they can knock off North Carolina this weekend.

New Mexico State finally won a game, and it came on the final play of the game. Leading by seven in overtime, an Aggie defensive player intercepted a pass with his feet to seal the win.


Top 25
1-Ohio State 8-0 did not play/vs Minnesota
2-Clemson 8-0 beat NC State/vs Florida State
3-Baylor 7-0 did not play/at Kansas State
4-TCU 8-0 beat West Virginia/at Oklahoma State
5-LSU 7-0 did not play/at Alabama
6-Michigan State 8-0 did not play/at Nebraska
7-Alabama 7-1 did not play/vs LSU
8-Notre Dame 7-1 beat Temple/at Pittsburgh
9-Iowa 8-0 beat Maryland/at Indiana
10-Oklahoma State 8-0 beat Texas Tech/vs TCU
11-Stanford 7-1 beat Washington State/at Colorado
12-Memphis 8-0 beat Tulane/vs Navy
13-Florida 7-1 beat Georgia/vs Vanderbilt
14-Utah 7-1 beat Oregon State/at Washington
15-Oklahoma 7-1 beat Kansas/vs Iowa State
16-Toledo 7-0 did not play/vs Northern Illinois
17-Houston 8-0 beat Vanderbilt/vs Cincinnati
18-Florida State 7-1 beat Syracuse/at Clemson
19-Ole Miss 7-2 beat Auburn/vs Arkansas
20-Michigan 6-2 beat Minnesota/vs Rutgers
21-North Carolina 7-1 beat Pittsburgh/vs Duke
22-Wisconsin 7-2 beat Rutgers/at Maryland
23-Texas A&M 6-2 beat South Carolina/vs Auburn
24-Temple 7-1 lost to Notre Dame/at SMU
25-Mississippi State 6-2 did not play/at Missouri

Games of the Week
I was 8-2 last week, I'm 67-31 for the season now. Pretty solid slate of games this week.

Navy at Memphis: Navy's lone loss is to Notre Dame, they have a solid team. Memphis looks really good though. Memphis 45 Navy 28

Florida State at Clemson: Huge game for both teams, Florida State looked pretty sharp against Syracuse and Clemson continues to roll. Clemson 34 Florida State 28

Duke at North Carolina: Duke got hosed against Miami, did it suck the life out of them? North Carolina is quietly 7-1. North Carolina 28 Duke 24

Notre Dame at Pittsburgh: This should be a great game, I think the Irish pull it off. Notre Dame 31 Pittsburgh 27

Iowa at Indiana: Indiana always seems to give good Iowa teams a hard time, this one might not be too much different, but I think the Hawkeyes will pull away. Iowa 38 Indiana 24

Penn State at Northwestern: Only four losses between the two teams, this is going to be a defensive slugfest. Northwestern 17 Penn State 14

TCU at Oklahoma State: This is a tough game to predict, TCU has had a couple of close games against weaker opponents and Oklahoma State just keeps winning. Can they pull the upset this week? TCU 45 Oklahoma State 42

Utah State at New Mexico: The Lobos return to action after a bye week last week. I don't think they have enough talent to hang with Utah State. Utah State 34 New Mexico 23

California at Oregon: Both teams are sitting at 5-3 and their schedules aren't getting any easier. They both really need a win right now. Oregon 42 California 34

Utah at Washington: This could be a tough game for the Utes, but I think they'll pull it off. Utah 24 Washington 21

LSU at Alabama: The game of the week, winner will have the lead in the toughest division in college football. Alabama 27 LSU 24


Heisman Watch
Leonard Fournette RB LSU
Season: 1,352-15 7-58

Trevone Boykin QB TCU
vs West Virginia: 388-3-0 84-1
Season: 2,927-28-5 524-6

Corey Coleman WR Baylor
Season: 47-962-18

Ezekiel Elliott RB Ohio State
Season: 1,130-13 23-160

Derrick Henry RB Alabama
Season: 1,044-14 8-69

Baker Mayfield QB Oklahoma
vs Kansas: 383-4-0 16-0
Season: 2,470-25-4 198-4

Josh Docstson WR TCU
vs West Virginia: 11-183-2
Season: 71-1,250-14

Christian McCaffery RB Stanford
vs Washington State: 107-0 4-26 1-3 PR
Season: 1,060-6 25-310-2 19-559 KR 9-25 PR

Paxton Lynch QB Memphis
vs Tulane: 343-1-0 43-0
Season: 2,366-17-1 168-2

Dalvin Cook RB Florida State
vs Syracuse: DNP (injured)
Season: 1,037-11 15-181-1

Jared Goff QB California
vs USC: 272-2-2 23-0
Season: 2,537-22-11

C.J. Prosise RB Notre Dame
vs Temple: 25-0 5-43
Season: 947-11 23-262-1

Playoff Watch
Ohio State 8-0 (Minnesota/at Illinois/Michigan State/at Michigan)
Clemson 8-0 (Florida St/at Syracuse/Wake Forest/at South Carolina)
Baylor 7-0 (at Kansas State/Oklahoma/at Oklahoma State/at TCU/Texas)
TCU 8-0 (at Oklahoma State/Kansas/at Oklahoma/Baylor)
LSU 7-0 (at Alabama/Arkansas/at Ole Miss/Texas A&M)
Michigan State 8-0 (at Nebraska/Maryland/at Ohio State/Penn State)
Alabama 7-1 (LSU/at Mississippi State/Charleston Southern/at Auburn)
Notre Dame 7-1 (at Pittsburgh/Wake Forest/Boston College/at Stanford)
Iowa 8-0 (at Indiana/Minnesota/Purdue/at Nebraska)
Oklahoma State 8-0 (TCU/at Iowa State/Baylor/Oklahoma)
Stanford 7-1 (at Colorado/Oregon/California/Notre Dame)
Memphis 8-0 (Navy/at Houston/at Temple/SMU)
Florida 7-1 (Vanderbilt/at South Carolina/FAU/Florida State)
Utah 7-1 (at Washington/at Arizona/UCLA/Colorado)
Oklahoma 7-1 (Iowa State/at Baylor/TCU/at Oklahoma State)
Toledo 7-0 (Northern Illinois/at Central Michigan/at Bowling Green/Western Michigan)
Houston 8-0 (Cincinnati/Memphis/at UCONN/Navy)
Florida State 7-1 (at Clemson/at NC State/Chattanooga/at Florida)
North Carolina 7-1 (Duke/Miami/at Virginia Tech/at NC State)

College Football Week 9

I got to catch a few games on Saturday since Iowa didn't play. There were some pretty good games and some interesting finishes as well. USC crushed Utah, handing them their first loss of the year. Before the season started, I wouldn't have been surprised by that outcome. Florida State was handed their first loss as Georgia Tech beat them on a great play at the end. Six of my top seven teams are off this week.


Top 25
1-Ohio State 7-0 beat up Rutgers, off this week
2-Baylor 7-0 beat Iowa State, off this week
3-Clemson 7-0 crushed Miami, their worst loss in school history, at NC State this week
4-TCU 7-0 did not play, West Virginia this week
5-LSU 7-0 beat Western Kentucky, off this week
6-Michigan State 7-0 beat Indiana, off this week
7-Alabama 7-1 close win against Tennessee, off this week
8-Notre Dame 6-1 did not play, at Temple this week
9-Oklahoma State 7-0 destroyed Kansas, at Texas Tech this week
10-Iowa 7-0 did not play, Maryland this week
11-Stanford 6-1 beat Washington, at Washington State this week
12-Memphis 7-0 knocked off Tulsa, lots of offense, Tulane this week
13-Florida 6-1 did not play, at Georgia this week
14-Utah 6-1 lost to USC, Oregon State this week
15-Toledo 7-0 had a huge second half to beat UMASS, off this week
16-Oklahoma 6-1 demolished Texas Tech, at Kansas this week
17-Houston 7-0 whooped UCF, Vanderbilt this week
18-Florida State 6-1 lost to Georgia Tech on a crazy play at the end, Syracuse this week
19-Temple 7-0 had a nice come back win against East Carolina, taking on Notre Dame this week
20-Ole Miss 6-2 beat Texas A&M, at Auburn this week
21-Pittsburgh 6-1 another last second field goal in their win over Syracuse, North Carolina this week
22-Michigan 5-2 did not play, at Minnesota this week
23-UCLA 5-2 had no problem with Cal, Colorado this week
24-Duke 6-1 beat Virginia Tech in four overtimes, Miami this week
25-North Carolina 6-1 beat Virginia, at Pittsburgh this week

Top Games of the Week
Last week was rough for predictions, I was 5-5, I'm not at 59-29 on the year. A lot of the top teams are off this week, but there should be some decent games.

Clemson at NC State: Clemson looks like a legit playoff contender, I don't see anyone on their schedule beating them right now. Clemson 45 NC State 24

West Virginia at TCU: I think West Virginia can hang with TCU, but the Horned Frogs will have the edge. TCU 49 West Virginia 45

Notre Dame at Temple: Weird to think that this is a game between two ranked teams, can Temple continue their unbeaten season? Notre Dame 28 Temple 24

Oklahoma State at Texas Tech: This one should be a slugfest. Oklahoma State 38 Texas Tech 34

Maryland at Iowa: Iowa is coming off a much needed off week, looks like they're getting some players back from injury. Maryland looked pretty good against Penn State. Iowa 34 Maryland 24

Stanford at Washington State: Stanford seems to be one of the hottest teams in the country right now, Washington State is better than I expected they would be this year. Stanford 31 Washington State 27

Florida at Georgia: This is a huge game for the division, winner could be the team to beat. Georgia 17 Florida 13

Ole Miss at Auburn: Ole Miss had a nice bounce back win against A&M, Auburn lost a tough four overtime game against Arkansas. Ole Miss 24 Auburn 20

North Carolina at Pittsburgh: Will Pitt's magic continue? They face a much tougher opponent this week. Pittsburgh 31 North Carolina 24

USC at California: USC crushed Utah and Cal was crushed by UCLA. Is USC heading in a good direction? USC 34 Cal 28

Heisman Watch
Leonard Fournette RB LSU
vs Western Kentucky: 150-1 1-2
Season: 1,352-15 7-58

Trevone Boykin QB TCU
Season: 2,539-25-5 440-5

Corey Coleman WR Baylor
vs Iowa State: 6-85-2
Season: 47-962-18

Ezekiel Elliott RB Ohio State
vs Rutgers: 142-2 3-29
Season: 1,130-13 23-160

Derrick Henry RB Alabama
vs Tennessee: 143-2
Season: 1,044-14 8-69

C.J. Prosise RB Notre Dame
Season: 922-11 18-219-1

Dalvin Cook RB Florida State
vs Georgia Tech: 82-1 4-50
Season: 1,037-11 15-181-1

Josh Docstson WR TCU
Season: 60-1,067-12

Baker Mayfield QB Oklahoma
vs Texas Tech: 212-2-1 16-0
Season: 2,087-21-4 182-4

Christian McCaffery RB Stanford
vs Washington: 109-1 5-112-1 3-79 KR
Season: 953-6 21-284-2 19-559 KR 8-22 PR

Jared Goff QB California
vs UCLA: 295-3-0 9-0
Season: 2,265-20-9

Playoff Watch
Undefeated teams: Temple, Houston, Memphis, Clemson, Michigan State, Ohio State, Iowa, Baylor, Oklahoma State, TCU, Toledo, LSU

One Loss Teams: Florida State, Duke, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Oklahoma, Stanford, Utah, Florida, Alabama, Notre Dame

College Football Week 8

The Iowa Hawkeyes got off to a great start this season, but before the game at Northwestern on Saturday, I had a bad feeling that they were going to be handed their first loss. The Hawkeyes were without star defensive end, Drew Ott, both starting offensive tackles were out, top WR Tevaun Smith wasn't 100%, running back, LeShun Daniels, was still out, and quarterback, C.J. Beathard, could barely walk. Iowa got out to an early lead, but running back, Jordan Canzeri, who ran for 256 yards the previous week against Illinois, got injured, and in came third stringer, Akrum Wadley. Wadley had a big game last year against Northwestern, but he had fumbled once every 10 carries. I was a little nervous with him in the game, it looked like it was going to be the type of game where every possession counted. Northwestern had momentum on their side, too.

Up 16-10 at halftime, after a missed extra point and field goal, the Hawkeyes came out and played an amazing half of football. The offense and defense were both clicking, and Wadley ran for 204 yards and four scores, tying a school record. Iowa won easily 40-10 and moved up the rankings before their much needed bye week this week. The bye week couldn't have come at a better time for Iowa. Canzeri was lost for quite awhile, but hopefully everyone else should come back at full speed. This is one of the toughest Iowa football teams that I've ever watched. It's been a fun season so far.

Probably the craziest play of the season happened on Saturday as Michigan State knocked off Michigan on a last second botched punt. The Spartans were able to scoop it up and run it in to win the game. It's been a crazy season so far.

New Top 25
1-Ohio State 7-0 had no problem with Penn State, at Rutgers this week
2-Utah 6-0 beat Arizona State, at USC this week
3-Baylor 6-0 beat West Virginia, pretty much a bye this week as Iowa State comes to town
4-Clemson 6-0 beat Boston College, at Miami this week
5-TCU 7-0 beat Iowa State, off this week
6-LSU 6-0 knocked off Florida, Western Kentucky this week
7-Michigan State 7-0 miraculously beat Michigan, taking on Indiana this week
8-Florida State 6-0 beat Louisville, at Georgia Tech this week
9-Alabama 6-1 won at A&M, Tennessee this week
10-Notre Dame 6-1 beat USC, off this week
11-Oklahoma State 6-0 was off, Kansas this week
12-Iowa 7-0 crushed Northwestern, off this week
13-Stanford 5-1 beat UCLA, vs Washington this week
14-Memphis 6-0 stunned Ole Miss, at Tulsa this week, if I didn't have a show Friday night I would go
15-Florida 6-1 lost to LSU, off this week
16-Toledo 6-0 beat up Eastern Michigan, at UMASS this week
17-Oklahoma 5-1 destroyed Kansas State, Texas Tech at home this week
18-Houston 6-0 easy win against Tulane, at UCF this week
19-California 5-1 was off, at UCLA this week
20-Temple 6-0 beat UCF, travels to East Carolina this week
21-Texas A&M 5-1 lost to Alabama, at Ole Miss this week
22-Ole Miss 5-2 lost to Memphis, A&M this week
23-Pittsburgh 5-1 knocked off Georgia Tech, at Syracuse this week
24-Michigan 5-2 lost to Michigan State, off this week
25-UCLA 4-2 lost to Stanford, Cal this week

Top Games
I was 11-2 last week, 54-24 on the year. Not a lot of big match ups this week.

East Carolina at Temple: East Carolina has a solid team despite their record, they've had a tough schedule. Temple looks good. Temple 31 East Carolina 24

Clemson at Miami: I think Miami will give them a little bit of a scare but Clemson will pull away. Clemson 31 Miami 17

Duke at Virginia Tech: Duke is on the verge of being a top 25 and could contend for the division title, but playing at Va Tech will be tough, even though they're not having a great season. Va Tech 24 Duke 21

Northwestern at Nebraska: Iowa destroyed Northwestern last week, they definitely didn't look like the team that beat Stanford. Nebraska crushed Minnesota. Two teams going in opposite directions? Nebraska 24 Northwestern 17

Texas Tech at Oklahoma: Oklahoma had a hard time with Tulsa's spread offense and Tech's is better. Oklahoma did shut out Kansas State last week after a crushing loss to Texas. Oklahoma 34 Texas Tech 31

New Mexico at San Jose State: The Lobos came up with a huge last minute win against Hawaii last week to give them a 4-3 record. The team is hungry for a bowl birth this year. New Mexico 38 San Jose State 27

California at UCLA: This should be a great game, UCLA is struggling and Cal has a brutal schedule ahead of them. They could both use a win here. Cal 34 UCLA 28

Utah at USC: I really thought USC would be a playoff contender this year, but they've had a rough season. Can Utah can continue their success? Utah 31 USC 21

Tennessee at Alabama: Tennessee has been a disappointment so far this year, and Alabama is playing at a really high level right now. Alabama 38 Tennessee 24

Texas A&M at Ole Miss: Both teams coming off tough losses, which one can bounce back? Ole Miss 31 Texas A&M 30


Heisman Watch
Leonard Fournette RB LSU
vs Florida 180-2 1-15
Season: 1,202-14 6-56

Trevone Boykin QB TCU
vs Iowa State 436-4-0 74-1
Season: 2,539-25-5 440-5

Corey Coleman WR Baylor
vs West Virginia 10-199-3
Season: 41-877-16

Seth Russell QB Baylor
vs West Virginia 380-5-0 160-1
Season: 1,907-27-5 338-5

Ezekiel Elliott RB Ohio State
vs Penn State 153-1 4-21
Season: 988-11 20-131

Derrick Henry RB Alabama
vs Texas A&M 236-2 1-18
Season: 901-12 8-69

C.J. Prosise RB Notre Dame
vs USC 143-2 5-32
Season: 922-11 18-219-1

Dalvin Cook RB Florida State
vs Louisville 163-2 4-60
Season: 955-10 11-131-1

Josh Docstson WR TCU
vs Iowa State 10-190-2
Season: 60-1,067-12

Baker Mayfield QB Oklahoma
vs Kansas State 282-5-0 33-0
Season: 1,875-19-3 166-4

Jared Goff QB California
off
Season: 1,970-17-9

Christian McCaffrey RB Stanford
vs UCLA 243-4 1-4
Season: 844-5 16-177-1 KR 16-480 PR 8-22

Playoff Watch
These are the teams that I think are still in the hunt.

AAC: They have three undefeated teams right now, one loss won't get any of these teams in the playoff. Temple still plays Notre Dame and Memphis. Houston plays Vanderbilt and Memphis, not to mention Cincinnati and Navy, all at home though. Memphis still plays Navy, at Houston and at Temple.

ACC: Clemson and Florida State are undefeated, but still have to play each other. Duke, North Carolina and Pittsburgh all have one loss. I think Clemson will run the table and make the playoff.

Big 10: Three undefeated teams: Ohio State, Michigan State, and Iowa. Iowa has the easiest schedule, but they'll most likely lose in the conference title game to Ohio State. Buckeyes will run the table and make it to the playoff.

Big 12: Baylor, TCU and Oklahoma State are undefeated. I don't think Oklahoma State can beat either one of those teams or Oklahoma. Winner of Baylor-TCU might get in. I think TCU will have a tough time at one loss Oklahoma. Baylor in.

MAC: Toledo is undefeated, but I could see Bowling Green knocking them off.

Pac 12: Utah is the only undefeated team and they get UCLA at home. Stanford and Cal have both lost once, I think Stanford could win the rest of their games, but they have three straight against Oregon, Cal and Notre Dame. Cal has one loss but they have a tough schedule. Utah in.

SEC: LSU is the only unbeaten in the SEC but they travel to 'Bama. Alabama, Florida and A&M all have one loss. I could see Alabama winning out, but the one early loss could cost them a shot at the playoff if Ohio State, Clemson, Baylor and Utah all end up undefeated.

Notre Dame has one loss right now to Clemson and they have some tough games with Temple, Pitt and Stanford coming up.

College Football - Midway Point

We are now half way through the college football season. The Iowa Hawkeyes are still undefeated and they sit atop the Big Ten West division with a 2-0 record after their 29-20 victory over Illinois. Iowa relied on their ground game in the second half as Jordan Canzeri carried the team on his back, going for over 250 yards on a school-record, 43 carries. True freshmen WR, Jerminic Smith, had a big first half with four catches for 118 yards. The Hawkeyes did lose their best player, Drew Ott, for the season with a torn ACL. The senior defensive end should get a shot at the NFL.

New Top 25
1-Ohio State 6-0 pulled away late against Maryland
2-Utah 5-0 held of Cal for a big win
3-Baylor 5-0 destroyed Kansas
4-Clemson 5-0 crushed Georgia Tech
5-TCU 6-0 knocked off Kansas State in a close one
6-Florida 6-0 continues to surprise as they won at Mizzou
7-Michigan State 6-0 another close win this week against Rutgers
8-Florida State 5-0 beat Miami
9-LSU 5-0 had no problem with South Carolina
10-Alabama 5-1 knocked off Arkansas after a slow start
11-Texas A&M 5-0 was off
12-Ole Miss 5-1 beat up on New Mexico State
13-Stanford 4-1 was off
14-Notre Dame 5-1 beat Navy
15-UCLA 4-1 was off
16-Michigan 5-1 shutout Northwestern
17-Oklahoma State 6-0 beat West Virginia
18-Iowa 6-0 knocked off Illinois
19-Boise State 5-1 crushed Colorado State
20-Toledo 5-0 beat Kent State easily
21-Oklahoma 4-1 was upset by Texas
22-Northwestern 5-1 suffered their first loss against Michigan
23-Houston 5-0 beat SMU
24-Memphis 5-0 was off
25-California 5-1 lost to Utah

Top Games This Week
I was 8-4 last week which puts me at 43-22 on the season. Here are the top games for this week! I love this week of games! Cant' wait to see the division races start to take shape.

Penn State at Ohio State: Penn State got off to a slow start this year and the offense has struggled. Ohio State has been starting off slow in some games. If Penn State can get off to a quick start they might be able to hang with the Buckeyes, but I think Ohio State's defense will shut them down. Ohio State 24 Penn State 14

Arizona State at Utah: Utah is rolling, but Arizona State is tough, despite a couple of losses. Utah 34 Arizona State 24

West Virginia at Baylor: West Virginia has a solid offense, but they're defense won't be able to shut down Baylor. Baylor 52 West Virginia 35

Michigan State at Michigan: Before the season started I thought this game would be an easy win for the Spartans. I think Michigan actually wins this one. Michigan 24 Michigan State 17

Louisville at Florida State: Louisville has had a pretty brutal schedule this year and it doesn't get any easier. Florida State 21 Louisville 17

Florida at LSU: This is a huge game, I wasn't expecting both of these teams to be undefeated at this point in the season. LSU 27 Florida 24

Alabama at Texas A&M: A&M has been a surprise to me this year, also, but I think Alabama will win this one. Alabama 27 Texas A&M 21

Oklahoma at Kansas State: Oklahoma needs to bounce back after an embarrassing loss to Texas. Oklahoma 31 Kansas State 28

Iowa at Northwestern: This is a big game for the west division in the Big Ten. I think if Iowa can shut down the run game, which they can, they should win. Iowa 24 Northwestern 14

Ole Miss at Memphis: Memphis is undefeated, but Ole Miss is too good. Ole Miss 42 Memphis 31

UCLA at Stanford: This is a huge game if either of these teams want to make the playoff. Stanford 34 UCLA 28

Missouri at Georgia: Georgia lost a tough game at Tennessee and they lost star running back, Nick Chubb as well, but they still have more talent than Missouri. Georgia 31 Missouri 24

USC at Notre Dame: How will USC respond without their coach this week? They also lost a close game with Washington. Notre Dame 28 USC 21

Air Force at New Mexico:

Heisman Watch
Trevone Boykin QB TCU
vs Kansas State 301-2-2 124-2
Season: 2,103-21-5 366-4

Jared Goff QB Cal
vs Utah 340-2-5 30-0
Season: 1,970-17-9

Baker Mayfield QB Oklahoma
vs Texas 211-1-0 -5-0
Season: 1,593-14-3

Cody Kessler QB USC
vs Washington 156-0-2 -25-0
Season: 1,453-15-3

Seth Russell QB Baylor
vs Kansas 246-3-0 6-1
Season: 1,527-22-5

Kevin Hogan QB Stanford
off
Season: 1,155-9-2

Leonard Fournette RB LSU
vs S. Carolina 20-158-1 3-25
Season: 119-1,022-12

Nick Chubb RB Georgia
vs Tenn 1-2
Season: 92-747-7

Ezekiel Elliott RB Ohio State
vs Maryland 21-106-2 6-47
Season: 121-835-10

Dalvin Cook RB Florida State
vs Miami 22-222-2 3-47-1
Season: 88-792-8

Josh Docston WR TCU
vs Kansas State 8-155-2
Season: 50-877-10

College Football Week 5

The Iowa Hawkeyes knocked off Wisconsin on the road last Saturday 10-6. It was not a pretty game, but they came away with the win. The offense couldn't get anything going in the second half, but held the Badgers to only three points. Iowa is the only team left in the nation that hasn't allowed a rushing touchdown. The defense really stepped up when they needed to. Desmond King came up with two interceptions, putting him at five for the season. The Hawkeyes are now 5-0 on the season, one of 20 undefeated teams left. They also sit atop the western division at 1-0 with Northwestern and Illinois. They play Illinois at home this week.

New Top 25
1-Ohio State 5-0 had a tough time with Indiana
2-Utah 4-0 was idle
3-Baylor 4-0 beat Texas Tech pretty handily
4-Clemson 4-0 stopped Notre Dame late to hold on 24-22
5-TCU 5-0 destroyed Texas
6-Michigan State 5-0 barely pulled it off against Purdue
7-Florida 5-0 whooped Ole Miss
8-Florida State 4-0 beat Wake Forest, but it was closer than it should have been
9-LSU 4-0 beat Eastern Michigan
10-Oklahoma 4-0 knocked off West Virginia
11-Alabama 4-1 crushed Georgia
12-Texas A&M 5-0 beat Mississippi State
13-Northwestern 5-0 shutout Minnesota
14-Ole Miss 4-1 lost to Florida
15-Stanford 4-1 beat up on Arizona
16-Georgia 4-1 lost to Alabama
17-Notre Dame 4-1 lost on the road at Clemson
18-USC 3-1 was idle
19-UCLA 4-1 lost to Arizona State
20-Oklahoma State 5-0 knocked off Kansas State
21-California 5-0 held on to beat Washington State
22-Iowa 5-0 won at Wisconsin
23-Michigan 4-1 shutout Maryland
24-Boise State 4-1 crushed Hawaii
25-Toledo 4-0 beat Ball State

Top Games of the Week
Last week I was 9-3, putting e at 35-18 for the season. Only two games with top 25 teams going head-to-head this week.

Navy at Notre Dame: Notre Dame is coming off their first loss of the season, and Navy is still unbeaten. Notre Dame 28 Navy 23

Georgia Tech at Clemson: Georgia Tech really needs a win to salvage their season. Clemson looks pretty sharp right now and they're tough to beat at home. Clemson 31 Georgia Tech 21

Miami at Florida State: Florida State is undefeated, but they haven't looked too impressive. The Canes are coming off their first loss of the season. Florida State 21 Miami 17

Northwestern at Michigan: Two of the best defenses in the country going at it in this one. Northwestern 13 Michigan 10

Illinois at Iowa: Illinois looks like they've improved since last year, and the Hawkeyes are rolling right now. Iowa 31 Illinois 21

New Mexico at Nevada: The Lobos came back to knock off in-state rival, New Mexico State, last week. Nevada has struggled this year. New Mexico 34 Nevada 27

Oklahoma State at West Virginia: I think this game is going to be a great one, most likely a high scoring one. West Virginia 42 Oklahoma State 35

TCU at Kansas State: Can TCU stay undefeated? I think the Wildcats will hang for awhile. TCU 45 Kansas State 31

California at Utah: Cal might have the best QB in the country, Jared Goff, so they'll definitely have a chance to win. Utah 34 Cal 31

Florida at Missouri: Florida has been the surprise of the season. I honestly wasn't sure if they'd make a bowl game this year with their schedule. Florida 27 Missouri 21

Georgia at Tennessee: Tennessee has been another surprise this year, I thought they'd be much better. Can Georgia bounce back after an embarrassing loss at home to Alabama? Georgia 27 Tennessee 21

Arkansas at Alabama: Arkansas had a much needed win against Tennessee, and Alabama rolled against Georgia. Alabama 38 Arkansas 27

Heisman Watch
A running back might actually win the Heisman this year

Trevone Boykin QB TCU 1,802-19-3 242 rush yds 2 td
Jared Goff QB Cal 1,630-15-4
Baker Mayfield QB Oklahoma 1,382-13-3
Cody Kessler QB USC 1,257-15-1
Seth Russell QB Baylor 1,282-19-5
Kevin Hogan QB Stanford 1,155-9-2
Leonard Fournette RB LSU 99-864-11
Nick Chubb RB Georgia 91-745-7
Ezekiel Elliott RB Ohio State 100-729-8
Josh Doctson WR TCU 42-722-8

College Football Week 4

If future me came to me and gave me a sports almanac and I looked up the Utah-Oregon score, I would have thought for sure it was a typo. Utah crushed Oregon Saturday night. I definitely wasn't expecting that. There were some other outcomes I was not expecting. UCLA lumped up Arizona and Michigan destroyed BYU.

The Iowa Hawkeyes have been surprising me this year, too. I had a feeling they would be 4-0 at this point, but they have looked solid doing it. I didn't expect them to beat North Texas 62-16, especially since Kirk Ferentz was up against his good buddy, Dan McCarney. C.J. Beathard moved to 5-0 as a starter, and the offense was clicking all day. Can the Hawks use that momentum to knock off Wisconsin next week in Madison? If they can, I think they will have a good shot to win the west division.

Top 25
1-Ohio State 4-0 had no problem with Western Michigan
2-Utah 4-0 they moved up because they have a great resume so far
3-Michigan State 4-0 beat Central Michigan with ease
4-Baylor 3-0 crushed Rice and put up 70
5-Ole Miss 4-0 struggled for awhile with Vanderbilt before pulling away
6-Georgia 4-0 beat up on Southern
7-TCU 4-0 what a great finish as they knocked off Texas Tech
8-UCLA 4-0 beat up on Arizona on the road
9-Florida State 3-0 was idle
10-Notre Dame 4-0 beat UMASS
11-LSU 3-0 kind of struggled at Syracuse
12-Clemson 3-0 was idle
13-Oklahoma 3-0 was idle
14-Texas A&M 4-0 knocked off Arkansas in overtime
15-Alabama 3-1 beat UL-Monroe easily
16-Stanford 3-1 beat Oregon State
17-USC 3-1 beat Arizona State
18-Northwestern 4-0 struggled with Ball State, but stayed undefeated
19-Wisconsin 3-1 shut out Hawaii
20-Miami 3-0 was idle
21-Oklahoma State 4-0 beat Texas
22-West Virginia 3-0 beat up on Maryland
23-Florida 4-0 stunned Tennessee
24-Mississippi State 3-1 beat Auburn
25-California 4-0 knocked off Washington

Games of the Week
I went 6-5 last week with my predictions, which puts me at 26-15 for the season. There are quite a few good match ups this week.

Mississippi State at Texas A&M: I don't think either team will win the division, but the winner of this game will certainly stay in the race longer. Texas A&M 31 Mississippi State 24

Alabama at Georgia: If Alabama loses, their playoff shot will disappear. I'm going to try to watch this game, I think Georgia pulls it off. Georgia 34 Alabama 27

Ole Miss at Florida: Florida has really surprised me this year, I wasn't even sure if they'd make a bowl game looking at their schedule. I think Ole Miss is too good though. Ole Miss 27 Florida 21

Arizona State at UCLA: This one might end up being a blowout if UCLA plays like they did last week. ASU has struggled this year, too. UCLA 38 Arizona State 24

New Mexico State at New Mexico: The Lobos look to go to 3-2 with a win against in-state rival, New Mexico State, one of the worst teams in college football. New Mexico 56 New Mexico State 24

Notre Dame at Clemson: This is a tough one to predict, could be a really close game. I think Clemson pulls it off. Clemson 24 Notre Dame 21

Boston College at Duke: Boston College has looked pretty good this year, and Duke just knocked off Georgia Tech, which will help them in the division race. Duke 23 Boston College 21

Iowa at Wisconsin: This game will be huge for the Hawkeyes if they can pull off the win on the road. Wisconsin won't have their top RB, Corey Clement either. Iowa 28 Wisconsin 21

Minnesota at Northwestern: Another game that will help with determining the division champion. Northwestern has been one of the biggest surprise teams of the year and Minnesota has had a couple of close calls with some teams that they should have beaten with ease. Northwestern 17 Minnesota 14

Texas Tech at Baylor: Tech came really close to knocking off TCU last week, will have enough in the tank to hang with Baylor? Baylor 56 Texas Tech 45

Kansas State at Oklahoma State: Both teams are undefeated coming in. Oklahoma State 31 Kansas State 24

West Virginia at Oklahoma: The Mountaineers crushed Maryland on Saturday. Oklahoma 31 West Virginia 27

College Football Week 3

Another fun weekend of college football is in the books. Iowa played a hard fought battle with Pittsburgh, winning 27-24 as Marshall Koehn drilled a 57 yard field goal as time expired. I was doing a show at a VFW Saturday night, so I didn't get to see the game live, but followed it on Twitter. The show was a lot of fun, by the way. Met some great people, I always enjoy performing for those guys. When I got home I was able to watch part of the game before I passed out, I watched the rest in the morning. I think if Iowa still had Jake Rudock at QB they would be 1-2 right now. C.J. Beathard is a bad ass. He took a pounding against Pitt and still racked up nearly 300 yards of total offense.

I was able to catch the last quarter of the Alabama-Ole Miss game, too. I watched with my friends Holly and Nick, Holly is a huge Alabama fan. They were down 19 in the fourth, but their comeback fell short.

New Top 25
1-Ohio State 3-0 had a really difficult time with Northern Illinois, I watched most of the game and they were really struggling. Too many turnovers.
2-Michigan State 3-0 knocked off Air Force
3-Baylor 2-0 had a bye week
4-TCU 3-0 had no problem with SMU
5-Georgia 3-0 crushed South Carolina
6-Ole Miss 3-0 knocked off Alabama on the road
7-Florida State 3-0 had some trouble with Boston College, offense wasn't clicking
8-UCLA 3-0 won a close one against BYU
9-LSU 2-0 destroyed Auburn, Leonard Fournette is a beast
10-Notre Dame 3-0 knocked off Georgia Tech
11-Clemson 3-0 nice win at Louisville
12-Oklahoma 3-0 had a little bit of a scare against Tulsa
13-Texas A&M 2-0 beat Nevada
14-Alabama 2-1 offense is really missing Amari Cooper
15-USC 2-1 lost to Stanford at home
16-Oregon 2-1 crushed Georgia State
17-Northwestern 3-0 quite possibly the surprise team of the year with a win at Duke, defense looks solid
18-Wisconsin 2-1 beat Troy 28-3
19-Stanford 2-1 won at USC
20-Arizona 3-0 crushed Northern Arizona
21-Missouri 3-0 struggled with UCONN
22-Miami 3-0 beat Nebraska in overtime after a 23 point lead early
23-Arizona State 2-1 beat New Mexico
24-Utah 3-0 easy win at Fresno
25-Georgia Tech 2-1 lost a tough game against Notre Dame


Top Games
I'm 20-10 now on the year, there are some great games this week, especially in the Pac12.

Georgia Tech at Duke: Both teams coming off losses last week. Georgia Tech 34 Duke 24

North Texas at Iowa: Iowa has a lot of momentum heading into their game with North Texas. Iowa 45 North Texas 14

TCU at Texas Tech: Texas Tech knocked off Arkansas last week, can they give TCU a game? TCU 49 Texas Tech 42

New Mexico at Wyoming: The Lobos are 1-2 and could really use a win if they want to make a bowl game, Wyoming looks awful so far. New Mexico 38 Wyoming 27

California at Washington: Cal has looked really sharp on offense, can they win a big road game for the second straight week? California 48 Washington 38

UCLA at Arizona: Both teams are undefeated heading into this one, can Arizona pull off the upset? Arizona 31 UCLA 27

USC at Arizona State: Each team already has one loss this year and the loser will certainly be eliminated from any playoff hopes. USC 31 Arizona State 28

Utah at Oregon: Utah has looked great so far this year, but Oregon has too much talent. Oregon 38 Utah 27

Tennessee at Florida: Florida is off to a 3-0 start, but they haven't looked very sharp. Tennessee 28 Florida 17

Mississippi State at Auburn: Auburn has looked really bad the last two weeks, a win against Mississippi State could give them some confidence. Auburn 24 Mississippi State 17

Texas A&M at Arkansas: Arkansas has lost to Toledo and Texas Tech the last two weeks, they really need a win. Texas A&M 34 Arkansas 27

College Football Week 2

Week 2 is in the books, there were some great games this weekend. I had to miss the first quarter of the Iowa-Iowa State game because of a baseball game on Fox. It was another great game, but Iowa pulled away late! C.J. Beathard had a great game for the Hawkeyes, he had two huge runs when they were pinned deep. It's pretty refreshing seeing a QB like him running the team after watching James Vandenberg and Jake Rudock the last few years. Iowa lost two of their top players, LeShun Daniels and Drew Ott, in the first half. Even without their top defensive player, the Hawkeyes shut out the Cyclones in the second half. I really like this year's team, they're playing with a lot of heart and they're not as predictable as they've been the last couple of years. I was shocked to see them run a fake field goal for the second week in a row. The Hawkeyes now stand at 2-0 and will host Pittsburgh this week, who is also 2-0.

Top 25
1-Ohio State 2-0 had no problem with Hawaii
2-Alabama 2-0 easy win against Middle Tennessee
3-Michigan State 2-0 huge win against Oregon
4-USC 2-0 another easy win for the Trojans
5-Baylor 2-0 kind of struggled early with Lamar (who?)
6-TCU 2-0 put up 70 on Stephen F. Austin
7-Georgia 2-0 got a nice early season conference win
8-Florida State 2-0 Cook had a huge game on the ground
9-Ole Miss 2-0 second straight 70 point game
10-LSU 1-0 big road win at Mississippi State, good way to start the season
11-Clemson 2-0 had no trouble with Appalachian State
12-UCLA 2-0 easy victory over UNLV
13-Oklahoma 2-0 huge road win in overtime at Tennessee
14-Georgia Tech 2-0 they're going to be good this year, tough game this week
15-Texas A&M 2-0 they're better than I expected
16-Missouri 2-0 Arkansas State gave them some problems
17-Notre Dame 2-0 barely squeaked out a win against Virginia, it'll get tougher without Zaire at QB
18-Auburn 2-0 got lucky against Jacksonville State
19-BYU 2-0 my favorite team other than Iowa so far this year, another great win
20-Oregon 1-1 tough loss at Michigan State, but they'll bounce back
21-Northwestern 2-0 they've surprised me so far
22-Wisconsin 1-1 nice rebound win
23-Arizona State 1-1 only beat Cal Poly by 14, they haven't been impressive this year at all
24-Arizona 2-0 beat Nevada pretty easily
25-Toledo 1-0 upset of the week as they beat Arkansas

Top Games
I was only 4-3 last week, putting me at 12-6 for the season. The scores were fairly accurate though, so I've got that going for me. Quite a few nice match ups this weekend, should be a fun one.

Georgia Tech at Notre Dame: Notre Dame really struggled with Virginia and they lost Malik Zaire for the season. I'm going with Tech to pull this one off. Georgia Tech 34 Notre Dame 24

Nebraska at Miami: I think this will be a great game. I haven't got to see any Miami highlights this year, but this should be a good match up. Miami 31 Nebraska 28

Ole Miss at Alabama: Ole Miss definitely won't score 70 this week, but can they surprise Alabama? Alabama 24 Ole Miss 21

Auburn at LSU: I thought Auburn was going to be a playoff contender, but after last week's game I'm not so sure. LSU 21 Auburn 17

Illinois at North Carolina: Illinois has been a huge surprise this year after firing their coach before the season started. North Carolina better be prepared. This should be a high scoring game. North Carolina 45 Illinois 38

Pittsburgh at Iowa: Iowa might be without two of their top players and Pitt lost their top player for the season. I think Iowa's momentum helps them win this one. Iowa 28 Pittsburgh 17

New Mexico at Arizona State: The Lobos had a disappointing loss against Tulsa at home giving up 600 yards of offense and giving away another 150 in penalties. They'll have to play flawless to even compete with ASU this week. Arizona State 56 New Mexico 28

Northwestern at Duke: I didn't think that this would be that big of a game this year, but both teams are 2-0 right now. Duke 21 Northwestern 17

California at Texas: Cal's offense looks pretty sharp with Jared Goff running the show. Texas better be ready or they're gonna get smoked. Cal 38 Texas 27

BYU at UCLA: This BYU team has had two crazy wins already this year, but I think UCLA is too good at home. UCLA 28 BYU 21

Stanford at USC: Stanford is looking at a 1-2 start for the season. I thought they would have a good shot to win their division this year, they still have a shot, but it's not going to be easy. USC 34 Stanford 21

South Carolina at Georgia: With South Carolina's schedule this year, they might struggle to make a bowl game. Georgia 38 South Carolina 24

College Football Week 1

Week 1 of the college football season is in the books. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see many games since I was out of town, but I did get to see my Hawkeyes put a whoopin on Illinois State, 31-14! They started with an 81 yard touchdown drive, followed by a 99 yard drive for an early 14-0 lead. C.J. Beathard did a nice job running the offense, and LeShun Daniels looked great going over 100 yards on the ground. Drew Ott was an absolute monster on defense, and the secondary did a nice job. Illinois State couldn't get anything going offensively until the 4th quarter when the Hawkeye backups were in. The tackles and linebackers were big question marks coming into this season and I thought they all did a nice job, although the opponent wasn't Big Ten caliber, it still should give them confidence as the season progresses.

I watched Ohio State-Virginia Tech last night and it looked like early on it would be a blowout, but the Hokies got right back in the game. In the second half, the Buckeyes were too much and Virginia Tech lost their starting QB. Ohio State is going to be tough to beat, there is way too much talent on that team.

New Top 25
1-Ohio State 1-0 had a little bit of a scare against Virginia Tech before pulling away
2-Alabama 1-0 shut down Wisconsin's running game in an easy win
3-Baylor 1-0 played against SMU, but their offense is fun to watch
4-USC 1-0 easy win for the Trojans
5-Auburn 1-0 nice win against Louisville
6-TCU 1-0 close win against Minnesota, a tough opponent
7-Michigan State 1-0 knocked off Western Michigan, a team on the rise
8-Oregon 1-0 gave up a lot of points against Eastern Washington
9-Georgia 1-0 they've got some really good running backs, had no problem with UL-Monroe
10-Florida State 1-0 Everett Golson looked good in his debut
11-Notre Dame 1-0 Golson's old team dominated Texas
12-Clemson 1-0 easy win this week
13-Texas A&M 1-0 had no problem with a tough Arizona State team, kind of surprised me
14-UCLA 1-0 new QB looked solid
15-Ole Miss 1-0 put up 76 points in their opener
16-Oklahoma 1-0 easy win, but the running game struggled a bit, they need to fix that quickly
17-Georgia Tech 1-0 one of the funnest offenses to watch, Marshall's going to be a good one
18-LSU 0-0 game got cancelled due to lightning
19-Tennessee 1-0 had no problem scoring points, tough test with Oklahoma this week
20-Missouri 1-0 easy opening win
21-Arkansas 1-0 had no problem with UTEP
22-Boise State 1-0 narrowly defeated Washington
23-Northwestern 1-0 upset Stanford, held them to only six points, Justin Jackson is a stud at RB
24-Wisconsin 0-1 tough loss against Alabama, but should bounce back
25-Arizona State 0-1 got crushed by A&M

Top Games-Week 2
Last week I was 8-3 in my predictions, there aren't many marquee match ups this week, but there are a few good ones.

Oregon at Michigan State: This is one of the biggest games of the year. Oregon's offense had no problem scoring last week, but their defense gave up way too many points. Michigan State's defense will have their hands full. Michigan State 28 Oregon 24

Oklahoma at Tennessee: Both teams coming off easy wins against MAC opponents, can Oklahoma get their running game going? Tennessee 31 Oklahoma 27

Boise State at BYU: BYU came up with a huge win at the last second and stunned Nebraska on the road, but they lost their QB Taysom Hill again. If Hill was playing in this one, I'd pick BYU. Boise State 24 BYU 21

Tulsa at New Mexico: The Lobos are coming off of a huge 66-0 over Mississippi Valley State, where they ran for eight touchdowns, but they also looked decent in their passing game. Tulsa can score a lot of points, too, so this should be a shoot out. New Mexico 48 Tulsa 42

Iowa at Iowa State: Iowa State surprised me last week by beating Northern Iowa 31-7. They have a lot of talented WRs and could cause some problems for Iowa's secondary. Iowa 35 Iowa State 24

San Diego State at California: I really like Cal's QB, Jared Goff. He put up over 300 yards last week. Oh yeah, that was in the first half. He's good. The Aztecs are a solid opponent, but I don't think they can shut down Cal's offense. California 56 San Diego State 31

LSU at Mississippi State: LSU's first game was cancelled, so they're not faced with a road conference game to start the season, it won't be easy. Mississippi State knocked off Southern Miss last week. LSU 28 Mississippi State 21

2015 College Football

It's my favorite time of year, college football season! I'm super excited. Not sure how my Iowa Hawkeyes are going to look this year. They have some question marks this year, mostly on the offensive line at the tackle spots. They are replacing two NFL draft picks from last year with a pair of sophomores, Boone Myers, a former walk-on, and Ike Boettger, who played QB and TE in high school. They also replace two defensive tackles, but the guys who are filling in look much better than Myers and Boettger. C.J. Beathard takes over at the QB spot after Jake Rudock moved on to Michigan. I'm excited to see what Beathard can do, he's got a cannon for an arm and he can make plays with his feet. I think if he can stay healthy than Iowa has a shot to make it a special year, if not, it could be a long one which could lead to the dismissal of Kirk Ferentz. I really like the secondary and the running backs. The linebackers got worked last year, but they should be much better this year. And they don't have to face David Johnson, Ameer Adbullah, David Cobb, Melvin Gordon and Tevin Coleman this year. All of those guys are wearing NFL jerseys right now, well, maybe not right now, it's 8 p.m. on a Wednesday night, but you know what I mean. They're great running backs.

Living in Albuquerque, I have become a fan of the New Mexico Lobos as well, and this year could be a good one. Bob Davie has really put together a solid roster and they could make a bowl game this year. They've been amongst the best teams in the nation running the football since he's been at the helm, and this year they should add a much better passing game to add some balance. Jhurell Pressley could be one of the best running backs in the country, he averaged nearly 10 yards per carry last year. If the defense improves, it could be a really solid year. They tend to give up a lot of big plays though, should be a lot of high scoring games.

Here's my top preseason top 25

Top 25
1-Ohio State
2-TCU
3-Baylor
4-Alabama
5-Auburn
6-Michigan State
7-Oregon
8-USC
9-Georgia
10-Florida State
11-Clemson
12-UCLA
13-Ole Miss
14-Arizona State
15-Notre Dame
16-Stanford
17-Arizona
18-LSU
19-Georgia Tech
20-Boise State
21-Oklahoma
22-Wisconsin
23-Missouri
24-Tennessee
25-Arkansas

Week 1 Games
Week 1 is always hard to predict, but I'll give it a shot anyway.

Auburn vs Louisville: I think Louisville will hang with Auburn for a little while, but the Tigers will pull away late. Auburn 38 Louisville 24

South Carolina vs North Carolina: North Carolina could have a pretty solid team this year, their offense could be really good. North Carolina 31 South Carolina 27

Ohio State at Virginia Tech: Can Virginia Tech beat Ohio State in back-to-back years? I don't see it happening, even though they're at home. Ohio State 45 Virginia Tech 31

Michigan at Utah: The Jim Harbaugh era starts with a tough road trip to Utah, can he bring Michigan back from a horrendous year? Utah 28 Michigan 24

TCU at Minnesota: Minnesota should have a solid defense, but the offense drops off a bit without Cobb and Maxx Williams. TCU is solid all around. TCU 38 Minnesota 24

Alabama vs Wisconsin: Losing Melvin Gordon is going to hurt Wisconsin a lot. Corey Clement is a good running back, but he's not Gordon. Alabama 24 Wisconsin 17

Washington at Boise State: This should be interesting, Chris Petersen coached at Boise State for 13 years before moving on to Washington. Washington 34 Boise State 27

Arizona State vs Texas A&M: This should be a very good game, quite possibly one of the best games of the week. Arizona State 31 Texas A&M 30

Texas at Notre Dame: Notre Dame has an easier schedule than they normally do, but they'll be tested right off the bat with Texas. How good will Texas be this year? Notre Dame 28 Texas 17

Illinois State at Iowa: Looking at this game on the schedule a couple of years ago, I'm sure everyone would pencil in this one as an easy win, but that's not the case. Illinois State lost to North Dakota State in last year's FCS Championship game and they return QB Tre Roberson (3,000 yards passing and 1,000 yards rushing, 40 TDs) and their RB, who's name escapes me right now, ran for another 2,000 plus with nearly 30 TDs. That's a lot of production. Can Iowa's defense shut them down? They better be able to because the offense will probably take a couple of weeks to get going. I still think Iowa has too much talent to not win this one. Iowa 27 Illinois State 17

Mississippi Valley State at New Mexico: I know nothing about Mississippi Valley State, which means this should probably be an easy game for the Lobos. This will be a good game to test out their QBs arms. I know they've added some talented WRs and the passing game could be decent this year. I think the offense is going to roll in this one, and the defense has LB Dakota Cox back, he's a tackling machine. New Mexico 55 Mississippi Valley State 10


Possible Heisman Candidates
Connor Cook QB Michigan State
JT Barrett QB Ohio State
Cardale Jones QB Ohio State
Christian Hackenberg QB Penn State
Trevone Boykin QB TCU
Jared Goff QB California
Cody Kessler QB USC
Jeremy Johnson QB Auburn
Dak Prescott QB Mississippi State
James Conner RB Pittsburgh
Ezekiel Elliott RB Ohio State
Samaje Perine RB Oklahoma
Corey Clement RB Wisconsin
Nick Chubb RB Georgia
Derrick Henry RB Alabama
Leonard Fournette RB LSU
Laquon Treadwell WR Ole Miss
Tyler Boyd WR Pittsburgh

Conference Outlooks
AAC:I think Cincinnati should be the team to beat here, but watch out for East Carolina, Memphis, Houston and Navy. Temple and UCF could be in the hunt as well. I don't see any of these teams cracking the top 25, but Cincinnati might have a shot if they can knock off Miami.

ACC:Clemson, Florida State and Georgia Tech are the three teams to watch in the playoff hunt. I don't think the ACC will have a playoff team, but all three of those teams should be top 25 teams throughout the season. I could see NC State maybe cracking the top 25 with their schedule early on. Virginia Tech should be solid, but they should start the year with a loss to Ohio State. North Carolina could surprise some people, and Duke and Miami will be good.

Big 10:The Big 10 championship will be determined when Michigan State plays at Ohio State, which I think the Buckeyes will win. Wisconsin, Minnesota, Nebraska and Penn State could all sniff the top 25 throughout the season. If Iowa's offense can click they could also contend for the west title. Michigan will be much better, too, but they won't be near the top of the standings just yet.

Big 12:The two to watch are Baylor and TCU, they're game could determine the winner of the conference and a playoff spot. Oklahoma could sneak in the race as well if they can knock off one of those two teams. No one else really stands out in the conference, Texas, Kansas State, West Virginia and Oklahoma State will all be pretty good, but won't contend for a conference title.

MWC:It should be an interesting race for the conference title this year. I think a lot of people expect Boise State to win it, but I think Utah State and San Diego State will definitely have something to say about it. If Utah State's QB Chuckie Keeton can stay healthy, they should have a really good year, he's a great QB.

Pac 12:The Pac 12 is going to be a great conference again this year and it's really hard to predict what's going to happen. I honestly think Stanford will have a shot to win their division, and USC is my favorite to play them in the conference title game. Oregon will be solid and should be in the top 15 all year. Arizona State, Arizona and UCLA will all be solid, too. Utah could surprise some people. California will be much better, but they really have a tough schedule.

SEC:The SEC always has some great teams, and this year will be no different. Look for Tennessee and Arkansas to sneak up on people this year, too. I've got Auburn playing Tennessee in the conference title game. I usually pick Georgia, but they always screw me over.