MARSHALL vs. VIRGINIA TECH ? October 8th, 12:00 PM EDT
There is not really much to say about this game other than the fact that the Hokies will surely kick the crap out of a Thundering Herd squad that is much weaker than usual. This number is borderline astronomical but Virginia Tech has covered every game this season and 12 out of their last 13 games going back as far as last October. This year, the Hokies have won their two home games by a combined score of 96-7 which clearly goes to show that HC Frank Beamer has no qualms about running up the score. This should be particularly true this week as he is undoubtedly well aware of his team?s No. 3 position in the polls and of the fact that the first BCS rankings will be released after next week?s games. North Carolina State?s defense is one of the best in the nation and held VA Tech to 20 points in the first game of 2005 but the Hokies have since averaged nearly 44 points per game. Tech now has a 175-24 scoring advantage since the NC State game and has allowed only 5, 10, 6 and 11 first downs in those four games.
Let?s not forget that Marshall is the team that lost to Central Florida allowing the Golden Knights to snap their 17 game losing streak just two weeks ago and since their 36-24 win over William & Mary in the opener, The Herd have scored 19, 13 and 16 points against Kansas, Central Florida and SMU respectively. The quarterback glory days of Pennington and Leftwich are now history and Marshall?s running game is almost nonexistent with a mere 315 total rushing yards this year. That gives them little hope of chewing up the clock in an effort to cut short the merciless beating that they are in for. If Central Florida can score 23 points on these guys in Orlando, what do you think Vick & Co. will do to them in Blacksburg?
The Verdict: VIRGINIA TECH (-34)
ILLINOIS vs. INDIANA ? October 8th, 12:00 PM EDT
When HC Ron Zook was so unceremoniously run out of Florida, he knew that he would have a big job ahead of him if he was going to turn around the dismal football program in Champaign and for the first two games it looked like he might have a shot at doing just that. After beating Rutgers and San Jose State at home, the Fighting Illini headed west to take on Cal only to return home with their first loss and to look forward to Michigan State coming to town. That?s when the wheel began to fall off the wagon as the Spartans crushed them in a 61-14 laugher that involved Big Green dropping up 705 yards of offense and seven touchdowns on their ass. That game was followed by a 35-7 loss at Iowa last week and by Zook?s preliminary update of his resume; just in case.
The Indiana Hoosiers also have a new coach this season in Terry Hoeppner who finished off his sixth season as the head guy for the Miami RedHawks last year, then left after posting a 13-1 record and a No. 10 ranking in the final AP poll. Under Hoeppner, the Hoosiers are off to a 3-1 start with their loss coming last week in a visit to Wisconsin that resulted in a final score of 41-24. The positive aspects of that game for Indiana were that they had only 8 total yards deficit against the Badgers and they were able to hold Wisconsin to just 103 yards rushing. Indiana QB Blake Powers has now thrown for 962 yards and 14 touchdowns this season and is joined in the backfield by two above average running backs in Chris Taylor and Yamar Washington. The Hoosiers have averaged over 29 points in their four games so far in 2005 while allowing not quite 25.
For the Illini, QB Tim Brasic has managed 1,041 passing yards in five games but only six touchdowns to go along with his five interceptions. He also has the most rushing attempts on the team at 68 but for only 3.1 yards per carry. Pierre Thomas at running back is really the only other offensive threat and while his 5.3 yards per carry are nice, he has only gained 323 yards on the ground in five games. In their last three games the defense has been run over by the competition who have combined for 971 yards rushing and an average of 8 yards per carry. They have allowed every team except San Jose to score at least 30 points for an average of 36 points while the offense is averaging less than 23 points per game.
The Verdict: INDIANA (-6.5)
Back with the rest later.
There is not really much to say about this game other than the fact that the Hokies will surely kick the crap out of a Thundering Herd squad that is much weaker than usual. This number is borderline astronomical but Virginia Tech has covered every game this season and 12 out of their last 13 games going back as far as last October. This year, the Hokies have won their two home games by a combined score of 96-7 which clearly goes to show that HC Frank Beamer has no qualms about running up the score. This should be particularly true this week as he is undoubtedly well aware of his team?s No. 3 position in the polls and of the fact that the first BCS rankings will be released after next week?s games. North Carolina State?s defense is one of the best in the nation and held VA Tech to 20 points in the first game of 2005 but the Hokies have since averaged nearly 44 points per game. Tech now has a 175-24 scoring advantage since the NC State game and has allowed only 5, 10, 6 and 11 first downs in those four games.
Let?s not forget that Marshall is the team that lost to Central Florida allowing the Golden Knights to snap their 17 game losing streak just two weeks ago and since their 36-24 win over William & Mary in the opener, The Herd have scored 19, 13 and 16 points against Kansas, Central Florida and SMU respectively. The quarterback glory days of Pennington and Leftwich are now history and Marshall?s running game is almost nonexistent with a mere 315 total rushing yards this year. That gives them little hope of chewing up the clock in an effort to cut short the merciless beating that they are in for. If Central Florida can score 23 points on these guys in Orlando, what do you think Vick & Co. will do to them in Blacksburg?
The Verdict: VIRGINIA TECH (-34)
ILLINOIS vs. INDIANA ? October 8th, 12:00 PM EDT
When HC Ron Zook was so unceremoniously run out of Florida, he knew that he would have a big job ahead of him if he was going to turn around the dismal football program in Champaign and for the first two games it looked like he might have a shot at doing just that. After beating Rutgers and San Jose State at home, the Fighting Illini headed west to take on Cal only to return home with their first loss and to look forward to Michigan State coming to town. That?s when the wheel began to fall off the wagon as the Spartans crushed them in a 61-14 laugher that involved Big Green dropping up 705 yards of offense and seven touchdowns on their ass. That game was followed by a 35-7 loss at Iowa last week and by Zook?s preliminary update of his resume; just in case.
The Indiana Hoosiers also have a new coach this season in Terry Hoeppner who finished off his sixth season as the head guy for the Miami RedHawks last year, then left after posting a 13-1 record and a No. 10 ranking in the final AP poll. Under Hoeppner, the Hoosiers are off to a 3-1 start with their loss coming last week in a visit to Wisconsin that resulted in a final score of 41-24. The positive aspects of that game for Indiana were that they had only 8 total yards deficit against the Badgers and they were able to hold Wisconsin to just 103 yards rushing. Indiana QB Blake Powers has now thrown for 962 yards and 14 touchdowns this season and is joined in the backfield by two above average running backs in Chris Taylor and Yamar Washington. The Hoosiers have averaged over 29 points in their four games so far in 2005 while allowing not quite 25.
For the Illini, QB Tim Brasic has managed 1,041 passing yards in five games but only six touchdowns to go along with his five interceptions. He also has the most rushing attempts on the team at 68 but for only 3.1 yards per carry. Pierre Thomas at running back is really the only other offensive threat and while his 5.3 yards per carry are nice, he has only gained 323 yards on the ground in five games. In their last three games the defense has been run over by the competition who have combined for 971 yards rushing and an average of 8 yards per carry. They have allowed every team except San Jose to score at least 30 points for an average of 36 points while the offense is averaging less than 23 points per game.
The Verdict: INDIANA (-6.5)
Back with the rest later.
