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Friday, September 14, 2007
The Fearless Friday Forecast
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
We were 7-3 in last week’s Fearless Friday Forecast thanks to less than inspiring performances by Georgia, Auburn, and, of course, Michigan. That gives us a 13-7 record over the first two weeks. Let’s see if we can get to eight wins this week.
1. Boston College at Georgia Tech: Okay. The preliminaries are over and it’s time for these two teams to play some big boy football. This will be the first road game for new BC coach Jeff Jagodzinski and his staff. Georgia Tech QB Taylor Bennett is going to have to make a couple of plays against a defense that is stacked against the run. He will. Georgia Tech 24, Boston College 21.
2. Western Carolina at Georgia: The weaknesses on this Georgia team-and there are several-were exploited last week by South Carolina’s Evil Genius. But today’s game is about working on those things that will be necessary to win at Alabama one week hence. And that is running the football to set up the play action pass. Look for Matthew Stafford to make some big plays in order to give Alabama something to think about. Georgia 45, Western Carolina 7.
3. Tennessee at Florida: Tennessee has played a tougher early schedule (at California, Southern Miss) and that should help the Vols as they go to the Swamp. Florida has a lot of speed and a lot of weapons but has yet to see a good defense. If Tennessee can run the football, Phillip Fulmer and the boys have a chance. I just get the sense that Urban Meyer’s been holding back on his true Tim Tebow package of plays. Florida 28, Tennessee 17.
4. Arkansas at Alabama: Logically, Arkansas should win this game. The Hogs have two of the nation’s best running backs (Darren McFadden, Felix Jones) and Alabama’s weakness is up front on defense. But Alabama fans have been pointing to this game since Nick Saban became head coach in January. The Crimson Tide is going to be pumped up and is going to find a way to confuse Arkansas QB Casey Dick. Alabama 17, Arkansas 16:
5. Louisville at Kentucky: There will be two great quarterbacks in this game in Brian Brohm of Louisville and Andre Woodson of Kentucky. Both defenses have been known to struggle. There will be a bunch of big plays in this game and Kentucky is due for an upset. Kentucky 35, Louisville 31.
6. Miss. State at Auburn: Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville was preaching patience after the Tigers lost to South Florida last week. Auburn is pretty good on defense but the offense is hurting because of a young offensive line and the fact that RB Brad Lester (academics) can’t get on the field. A word of advice to the Auburn offense: make sure you block Mississippi State DE Titus Brown. Auburn 27, Miss. State 10.
7. Florida State at Colorado: Colorado is not very good but the Seminoles have not been world beaters in the first two weeks of this season. RB Antone Smith suffered a concussion last week against UAB and his ability to be effective in this game is anything but certain. I’ve just got a feeling that Florida State is ready to take a step towards being a good football team again. We’ll see. I could be wrong. Florida State 27, Colorado 17.
8. Southern Cal at Nebraska: Southern Cal has not been to Nebraska since 1969 and the Trojans arrive in Lincoln needing some style points. Why? Because last week while USC was off, LSU and Oklahoma made a strong case for being ranked in the top two. The Trojans need to remind the voters why they are No. 1. Southern Cal 31, Nebraska 17.
9. Ohio State at Washington: With Michigan taking the gas, Ohio State might just actually be good enough to win the Big Ten again. After two average performances against Youngstown State and Akron, the Buckeyes will learn a lot about their team by going to Husky Stadium, where Tryone Willingham is looking like a better coach than the guy who replaced him at Notre Dame. Ohio State 21, Washington 17.
10. Notre Dame at Michigan: I don’t know why we care about a pair of 0-2 teams but we do. Michigan proved you can lose to the same team (Appalachian State) twice as the hangover was still there when Oregon embarrassed the Wolverines in the Big House. Notre Dame, however, does not have the athletes on offense that Appalachian State and Oregon possess (hard to believe I just wrote that.) Michigan 24, Notre Dame 20.
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