Weekend Card (Oct 21st -23rd)

[Irish]

ND (-5.5) over BC

Lines already up to 7 in most places and I expect it should go a little higher. Pitt showed that the O-line of BC is susceptible to power rushes. ND's front four will be in the backfield against this team. ND has shown the ability to run and throw evenly. BC looked at times confused on defense and Pitt is no where near the team ND is. Weather IMO was in favor of Pitt but still the Eagles looked bad at times and even if they were looking ahead to this game they should have beaten pitt. ND will be too powerful for them and Grant should have success especially if he gets into the secondary! Quinn will have a lot of receivers open but he can't go for the home run every play, rather just take the 5-7 yard completions because they will be there. The BC team will play loose to avoid the big play. At ND...the Irish will be ready!

Kansas (+26.5) over Oklahoma
Big play (may re-hit because the line is 27 now)
The Oklahoma St battle on the horizon, playing against an under rated Kansas team. The KState game will have the Sooners ready but they will not roll the Kansas team that has been preparing for 2 weeks now. Oklahoma has only beaten 1 team by 25 or more and thats Houston, I see the Jayhawks hanging in defensively and making a few plays offensively. IMO they don't have a shot to win but they aren't the same push overs they have been in the past! They get their best secondary player back Stubbs for this game.

Other leans
Temple (+17)
Colorado (+14)
Clemson (-3.5)
Bowling Green (-12.5)
Memphis (-6.5)
Boise (-10.5)

GL
Irish

 

[bigac11]

what are your thoughts on michigan/purdue? Mich with the points looks like the play to me. they have beaten them su 4-1 last five years with their loss coming by one point. They have had some scary games against some mediocre opponents but giving them 4 seems like a gift to me.

 

[Irish]

bigac11
This game is a no play for me, but looking back at the Wisky game Purdue offense was only starting to move the ball after 3 of the Badger d-linemen went out! Now if Mich can get pressure on Orton and force him to throw before he is ready Mich secondary has the ability to get turn-overs. That being said, it is a hostile road game for freshman Henne. After last weekend the boilermakers will again try to crowd the box and take away Mike Hart. Hart rushed for 234 yards last week, if the boilermakers force Henne to throw they might get turn-overs as well. IMO Orton will be the difference, he is mature and can handle the pressure. If I were to play this game it would be on Mich but only because of the points and I think this may be a close game. But with Orton @ home it is a lot to go against... Hope the info helps

GL
Irish

 

[treynolds]

Good Luck this weekend
I think you talked me into ND

 

[Irish]

Bowling Green (-12) over Ohio
Jacobs (ranking 2nd in total offense (341.3 ypg) and points responsible for (21.0) and 6th in passing efficiency (166.9)) is starting to assume the role of leader at QB, he is starting to make better decisions reading defenses and throwing the ball much better. BG has the edge in the special teams battle. The Falcons coming off three wins in a row have a bobcat team that got beaten by passing offense of Toledo. BG has eastern Mich on the doorstep so this team isn't looking ahead to a tough game. Instead the bowling green offense will come out and throw all day. On the other side of the ball Ohio is not sure at QB and showed to be a problem last week. The QB's can't get into the flow of the game and struggle. Bowling Green can limit turn-overs, they should have no problems.

Temple (+17) over UConn
I have said this before but other than Fincher the Huskies defense is not good. They have some players but all in all they have a tough time with MOBIL QB's.Temple QB Walter Washington leads the team in rushing. That being said Fincher will be locked on Washington all day. Someone else has to make plays for Temple and it has to be at the WR spot. The weakness of UConn is in their secondary. Offensively the Huskies have a good QB and RB. They will be able to put up points after all The Owls own the Big East's worst scoring (36.3 ppg.) and total defense (429.9 ypg.). But this team fights..they have close calls in their last 2 games vs. Pitt and @ Rutgers. Not saying Temple has the talent to win, but to IMO UConn doesn't have the talent to spot a team 2 TD's.

GL
Irish

 

[Irish]

UVA (-25.5) over Duke
Big Play for me
The loss to FSU will have Groh will have his boys working hard this week. Disappointment for the Cav's will lead them to lay the wood on Duke (a team that lost by like 30 to UM and 17 to GT). UVA passes the ball 100 yards more a game, with a 69% accuracy. Compared to the 52% of the blue devils. Against FSU the Cav's couldn't get the run going, no doubt in my mind they use it against Duke. The Cav's average 5 yards per carry on the rush. They will run and throw on Duke successfully and special teams of UVA will come into play.

The defense of UVA will be able to generate pressure on Schneider. When the Cav's pressure him he will make poor throws leading to turn-overs.

GT lead back rushed for 114 and threw a TD.
Navy QB Polanco ran for 130 yards
Navy FB Kyle Eckel ran for 100 yards
CITADEL Nehemiah Broughton ran for 79 yards
Terrapins added 277 on the ground

EDIT
Also Rushing & Passing totals
Navy 301 yards & 129 yards
UConn 112 yards & 290 yards
VT 250 yards & 172 yards
Maryland 277 yards & 408 yards
Citadel 142 yards & 139 yards


Per game average
Haggans 201.5 passing & 24 rushing
Lundy 86 rushing & 4.9 per carry
Pearman 42 rushing & 5.0 per carry

Haggans, Lundy and Pearman will have a lot of success finding running room. IMO the running/ Passing game of UVA is better than those teams. With perhaps the exception of Navy (rushing), the Duke defense isn't strong at all. As long as UVA isn't still hung over from the FSU loss they will Roll, IMO Groh has them ready and fired up to take on the blue devils.

GL
Irish

 

[AR182]

irish,

you, gman, & mc have some of the best college threads on the net. thanks, they have been very helpful.


good luck this weekend

 

[bej0101]

nice write up, thanks

 

[bigac11]

thanks for the input on the mich game i think im gonna lay a little wager on mich but not much like your picks this week, especially bowling green. I think they are a better team than people think they are

 

[ajoytoy]

gl on the plays Irish!


toy

 

[Irish]

WVU (-16.5) over Cuse
big play for me re-hit the game at (-15.5)

Looking at this line (after the FSU game) my first indication was too much chalk going to run away with Cuse! After looking I honestly would put Syracuse at about the same talent level as UConn. Except the strength of the Orange is at RB and UConns is at QB. But still an semi- productive offensive unit that depends ways on one facet of the Run/pass game and not balanced productivity. The Mountaineers compiled 309 rushing yards against Connecticut, despite playing without Kay-Jay Harris. Cuse played FSU tough (** RB Leon Washington rushed for a career-high 164 yards) but the Noles were looking way ahead to the UVA match-up and going to Syracuse wasn't top priority. Before that,SU lost on the road to No. 12 Purdue and No. 14 Virginia by a combined score of 82-10

WVU are ranked 2nd in scoring defense (17.9 ppg.) and 3rd in total (315.7) defense and have the league's top-ranked offense (418.7 ypg., 34.8 ppg.).

Cuse is ranked 6th in the BE for scoring defense (25.7 ppg.) and last in total defense (406.5 ypg.). This tells me that WVU will have success on offense, but have to stay away from stupid mistakes.

Syracuse has the 3rd ranked rushing attack (160.7 ypg.) BUT the Big East's last-ranked offense (307.5 ypg.).**That tells me Coach Rod will have his boys in the box crowding the line. FSU crowded the box and the result was 58 yards rushing from SU.

Looking at the UConn game WVU passed the ball well but the dropsies cost them more points. If WVU executed crisply that game would have been a blow out, not to say 31-19 isn't bad.

On the road Cuse isn't a very good team, at home WVU is a stronger team especially at night. WVU has the ability to throw the ball to generate offense as well as run it. Also Marshall has scrambling ability that will cause problems for SU. Too many weapons for SU to handle. If SU crowds the box Marshall can pass (not great but good enough), if they play pass Harris will run (or Marshall!!). The SU defense is not good enough to play both, not fast enough and cannot read and react well enough.

If WVU takes away the run, SU has a long road ahead, because that QB, if forced to throw, will turn it over. The defense of WVU should generate at least 2 INT's tonight. You get Kay-Jay Harris back, at home against a poor run defense! The crowd will have something to cheer about.

GL
Irish

 

[Irish]

Memphis (-6.5) over Cincy
big play for me
Cincy lost to Army, UAB, Cuse and Ohio St. That is just flat out bad, also Struggled to win against ECU! Cincy plays better at home and Memphis is not a great road team.

Memphis ranks 1st in the conference in rushing defense (86 ypg) BUT give up too many passing yards (285 ypg). The Tigers rank 3rd in the conference in sacks (15) and fourth in takeaways (11). Problem there is the tigers have had injuries of late to key players.

The tigers have to get the running game going quickly. Cincy against the run:
OSU - 220
M(OH) - 37
Cuse - 192
ECU -11
UAB -116
Army - 284
ECU & M(OH) are the only 2 wins Cincy has, and the only teams that didn't establish the run.

That being said those teams still kept it close because teams can pass on the bearcat defense. Tigers have the 8th most productive offense, averaging (477.7 ypg). That attack is balanced Memphis? ground game ranked 23rd (194.5 ypg), and its passing attack 10th (283.2ypg).

IMO the bearcat defense will attempt to stop the run because they win when they do that. Meaning Danny Wimprine will have to make plays down field to open up the running game. Bad spot for the tigers with Louisville on the doorstep, but the veteran leadership on offense will be enough for Memphis to win by a TD.

Clemson (-3.5) over Maryland
simply reasoning because the tigers play great at home (where there 2 wins came, 1 loss in OT). Maryland hasn't shown the ability to score on a quicker defense something (IMO) Clemson does have. Whitehurst can't throw INT's and the tigers should have a good day. Pressure on Statham OR Steffy will cause either to throw the ball up for grabs. The d-line of Clemson should be too fast for UM o-line and should be in the backfield most of the day. This will come down to the team that doesn't make mistakes will win and at home that will be Clemson. Maryland has no stability at QB and the offense just has no confidence. The Tigers have to get on them and never let them up.

GL
Irish

 

[c20916]

If I am not mistaken didn't Uconn drop for sure one TD pass, and maybe one other, they didn't actually play mistake free football either. Plus, you state if WVU can stay away from making stupid mistakes, they haven't done that all year. I am taking the cuse for a small play, one of us will win, GL.

 

[Irish]

c20916
The first 6 passing plays of the game Marshall was 1-6, even the broadcasters said Marshall should be 6-6 with a TD. I'm not sure what passes UConn dropped in the endzone? Or what mistakes you are thinking about, unless it involves the turn-overs. I have to credit the defense of WVU for creating some those mistakes. I don't think you can credit the Huskie defense for the WVU player getting open and the ball going through their hands?

But you are right.... WVU hasn't played mistake free ball. Not sure any team in NCAA has to this point. But there is always the potential for a team to do it, thats why they practice.

Gl luck on your play

Irish

 

[Howie's Hot]

GL Irish....like some of your plays...of course we are going head to head on tonights game oke seems to be happening alot this year...

GL
How

 

[c20916]

I agree that WVU dropped some passes, but Uconn had one play where the TE was behind the defenders and the ball was right on the money and he would have scored, and he dropped the ball. I had WVU that game so I was gald he did, and I beleive there was one other one.

As for the mistakes I know no team will play mistake free every week, but here are WVU's penalities each week 14, 12, 6, 5, 11, 11, that's too many penalities week in and week out. The game where they only had 5 was against James Madison. I respect your opinion, and wish you luck just playing the other side.

 

[Irish]

c20916
Gotcha ... no disrespect shown or taken, a difference of opinion and plays, totally understandable and welcomed. Just trying to clarify my post. We are all hear for the same goal, best of luck to you on your card!

Cheers
Irish

 

[Irish]

small play
Colorado St (-4.5) over Wyoming

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) -- Colorado State plays Wyoming at home Friday, though by the appearance of the field, it may not look that way.

Vandals entered CSU's Hughes Stadium this week and sprayed chemicals on the field, leaving the letters "U" and "W" painted on the field, 30 feet high and 75 feet wide.

This is just enough motivation for the Rams to come out to play. I was leading toward Wyoming but this is the type of locker room material the Rams needed to come out with a vengeance!


GL
Irish

 

[Irish]

Louisville Over( 57)

This game can go many ways but it will go over that number in Louisville. The cards have the offensive fire power to put up a big number on this defense. The Cards average 100 yards more rushing per game and 90 more passing. The bulls are coming off a 7 point loss to army. Tonight I see a huge game for Shelton. Coming off the Miami game this teams knows they have the ability and they take the loss out on the bulls. The best weapon for SF is there running back Hall and he is battling a neck injury. The defense of Louisville should contain the bulls. Also SF beat Louisville last year so this team has not only the revenge for the Miami loss but wants to make amends for last years double OT loss. LeFors is playing and will make plays tonight both with his arm and feet. The South Florida defense cannot contain either aspect of the Louisville offense. Not to mention the defense is very good for this cardinal team!

GL
Irish

 

[Blackman]

Good write ups as always -- best of luck this weekend and thanks for the info.