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Friday, September 28, 2007
Georgia Tech will beat Clemson
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
We were 8-2 last week because Georgia Tech lost to Virginia and Penn State lost to Michigan. But we did pick Georgia and Kentucky to win on the road. That makes the record for the season 29-11.
Here, once again, is the Fearless Friday Forecast.
1. Clemson at Georgia Tech: RB Tashard Choice returns to action and that makes Georgia Tech a much better football team. A year ago Clemson just steam rolled the Yellow Jackets 31-7 But after a tough loss at Virginia last week, Georgia Tech’s backs are to the wall. How will they respond? Tech slows down the running game and scores a late touchdown to win. Georgia Tech 28, Clemson 24:
2. Ole Miss at Georgia: What Georgia can’t do is sag after a big emotional win at Alabama last week. Ole Miss doesn’t have a lot of weapons, but they do play hard under Ed Orgeron. Georgia also can’t be looking ahead to next week’s game at Tennessee. The Bulldogs need to start fast and put the Rebels away early. Georgia 31, Ole Miss 14.
3. Florida State vs. Alabama in Jacksonville: Florida State has had a week off while Alabama is coming off a very tough loss in overtime to Georgia. Here is the difference in these two teams. Florida State is still trying to figure out who it is and what it can do. Alabama knows exactly what it can do and this team will not quit. This will be a 60-minute and therefore the edge goes to the Crimson Tide. Alabama 20, Florida State 17.
4. Auburn at Florida: The Gators scored 59 on the last SEC team (Tennessee) to come to The Swamp. But Auburn has a legitimate SEC defense and usually finds a way to make these kind of games competitive. Here is a fun fact: Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville has won eight of his last nine games against teams ranked in the Top 10. Won’t happen today. Florida 24, Auburn 17.
5. Mississippi State at South Carolina: Coach Steve Spurrier will start redshirt freshman Chris Smelley at quarterback in place of Blake Mitchell. But Smelley had better keep an eye out of DE Titus Brown, who is a legitimate All-SEC player. South Carolina needs to be careful with this game, especially with Kentucky coming to Williams-Brice Stadium next Thursday. If this stays an ugly, low-scoring game, Mississippi State can win. Give the edge to the Head Ball Coach. South Carolina 27, Mississippi State 17.
6. North Carolina at Virginia Tech: This will be the third straight start for Virginia Tech freshman quarterback Tyrod Taylor and will serve as his last tune-up for next week’s trip to Clemson. He has completed 24 of 44 passes in two games. North Carolina quarterback T.J. Yates (Pope) needs to bounce back from a four-interception performance last week against South Florida. Unfortunately for Yates, the Virginia Tech defense is better. Virginia Tech 31, North Carolina 10.
7. California at Oregon: This is the best game on the board on Saturday. Should be a shootout and the winner gets to chase Southern Cal in the Pac-10. Oregon’s Autzen Stadium is a tough place to play and quarterback Dennis Dixon is a tough guy to stop. I like the Ducks in a mild upset. Oregon 35, California 31.
8. Penn State at Illinois: The Nittany Lions will come out a little flat after a disappointing loss to Michigan last week. Illinois coach Ron Zook has been building toward this game since the got to Champaign. Illinois quarterback Juice Williams is due for a breakout game and he’ll get it against Penn State in an upset. Illinois 24, Penn State 23.
9. Notre Dame at Purdue: Purdue has suffered a lot of pain at the hands of their state rivals over the years. Now the Boilermakers are 4-0 and the Fighting Irish are 0-4. If Joe Tiller and the gang get a chance, they are going to put up a pretty big number against Notre Dame. Let’s try Purdue 42, Notre Dame 21.
10. Baylor at Texas A&M: The Aggies got embarrassed last week at Miami and should bounce back. But there is some bad blood between Baylor coach Guy Morris and Texas A&M coach Dennis Franchione. This will be a battle but I give the edge to the Aggies at home. Texas A&M 24, Baylor 17.
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