Weekend Card (Oct 20th -22nd)

[Irish]

N?Western (+12) over Mich St
Two of the nation best offenses teams are involved with this contest, Mich st (avg 548) and N?western (avg 528). The Cats coming in off 2 wins of Wiscy and Purdue while the Spartans defeats by Mich and Ohio St. Now the Spartans are a solid team and they have played some big teams, but N?Western isn?t the door mat they were in the past. Brett Basanez is a good QB and shows not only the ability to run the offense but make plays when the offense sputters. The emergence of Sutton has made it easy for Brett to find open players down field. The N?Western O-line is big and strong and they should be up for the challenge. N?Western knows they have to out score teams and they don?t count on the defense to hold teams. That is where they should keep this with in the number. I think Drew Stanton is a very good QB and mich st has the ability to score but they also show that they have trouble stopping teams. Now the teams are at different confidence levels coming into the game, N?Western now has a swagger and thinks they can play with anyone, while off 2 losses the Spartans might have their heads hung a bit. This N?Western team knows they really should have beaten Penn St and the cats know they can play with this team if not beat them. Should be a slug fest with both offense?s coming to the table but in that situation I still think 12 is a lot of chalk for a very confident team. Granted the Spartans are backed into the corner and they will come out fired up at home. Will also be looking at the over on this game with these offenses. The cats have an extremely tough schedule ahead of them but right now they are riding high and should not be afraid of the MSU. Playing with confidence and a high octane offense they can hang a big number on the Mich st defense that hasn?t been rock solid. Both teams should score and with experience and leadership for both teams, I'm thinking its a dog fight.

Cheers
Irish

 

[GuRu]

Nice write-up.

Ill be interested to see the over/under totals later in the week

 

[ajoytoy]

gl this weekend Irish...this will definitely be a shootout

 

[Blackman]

Good luck Irish, looking at NW as well.

 

[Irish]

VT (-10.5) over Maryland
Terps at home are ready to face one of the best teams in the nation. Both teams have had extra time to prepare for this game. Scares me to lay 10 with BC on the door step for Tech but the VT defense should be up to the challenge of stopping Maryland. Hollenbach is IMO a poor QB and he did not throw 1 TD in the temple game. Although he has improved from last year and is leading the ACC in total offense, He has tossed 7 TD?s on the year but has also thrown 7 picks. I don?t think he has faced a team as solid as tech. He throws the ball well but makes big mistakes when he has to throw given the other team has taken the running game away. This is very important considering how hard it will be for the terps to establish a running game. Maryland relies heavily on the running game and their two backs are the bread and butter of their scoring. Shutting them down would be huge for VT?s defense and the D-line for VT can do it. However the Maryland offense has generated over 1000 yards running and passing in their last 2 games but considering it was against Temple and UVA @ Maryland, those stats are a little over blown. VT has only allowed 236 yards of offense per game. Last year Maryland lost to VT 55-6. The Maryland defense is not strong and in the red-zone teams have scored 16 out of 17 times and of those 16, 13 were TD?s. Maryland?s rushing defense is 11th out of 12 ACC teams and they face a solid O-line, RB (Imoh returning) and scrambling QB on Thursday. So the VT defense comes in looking to stop the Terp offense completely. Vick needing to show he can pass more should look deep against this secondary but only after they establish the run. Most teams have solid success running the ball the Terps can limit the passing yards. VT can NOT afford to give Maryland hope, the Hokies have started slow in their last 2 games and overpowered teams later in the game, they need to jump on the Terps and take the 12th man out of the game early. Still I think Special teams and defense give the edge to VT and they have WR?s that Maryland cannot keep up with (Not sure if Vick gets them the ball). Then the o-line for VT is big and strong and should push the Terps around on defense opening lanes for Imoh or Vick. Plus they should find King/ TE in the middle when need be. All in all I?m looking for the VT defense to come out and set the tempo. Beamer and his staff got new contracts and they coach these boys up for a BIG national TV game. Hokies will want to show the whole nation what they are about in this game.

Cheers
Irish

 

[daddy]

:clap: :clap: i like that writeup ^

 

[Irish]

FIU/TROY UNDER (44)

FIU averages 16 points per game, while Troy averages 14. Both teams like to turn the ball over. Both teams played N. Texas putting up under 14 points. Also the kicking games are not that strong.

Cheers
Irish

 

[AR182]

irish,

sorry to see you on v.t., but glad that you like the under in the troy game.....

good luck this week.

 

[Irish]

So. Miss (+2.5) over UAB
This is just a play based on the teams offenses and how both can put up points but the golden eagles have played tougher teams. Two solid QB?s both can make things happen and both know the teams game plan. The edge in turnovers goes to So. Miss, the Eagles have 18 takeaways on the season. The kicking game for UAB is also struggling, missing FG?s shanking punts and Marshall blocked 2 kicks for scores. The big problem is the UAB defense is not good and allowed some huge plays in the past 2 weeks. Giving up an SMU 80 yard drive in the final min and letting the Marshall QB break a 40 yard option to score to seal the game for the heard. Some big things for UAB to having this game at home and the loss of Courington (So. Miss best WR). Still Almond a pocket type passer should be able to run his offense and score while the So. Miss defense should be able to stop some drives. The deep threat is Lindsey and the rusher in the red zone is Burks. The Eagles have to key on those players. Coming off 2 loses to sub par teams, the edge has to go to So. Miss with Almond throwing for 5 TD?s in his last contest. Offense on track, better competition think the eagles might even win this one.

Cheers
Irish

 

[Irish]

So.MISS/UAB OVER (10) 1st quarter

Cheers
Irish

 

[Ndfan]

good luck, but have michigan st winning by 17+.

 

[Irish]

Bama (-3.5) over Tenn
At Florida the Vols lost by 9 and Florida is not half the team Bama is right now. The at LSU the Tigers open up a 21 point lead and go to sleep on the Vols leading to their overtime come back. Tenn is the 100th ranked team in the NCAA for rushing, 86th in total offense and 96th in scoring offense. That poor offense goes into Bama where the tide held the gators to 3 points. Granted the Vols have played the tougher schedule but the tide play extremely well at home. This is a very nasty rivalry and the Vols would like nothing more than to end Bamas undefeated season, but the tide coming off a poor performance against Ol Miss will be locked into this game. The tide lose Prothro to a broken leg, this is a big loss but they can make do. The Vol offense is a little turnover prone and the tide can take advantage. The Vol offense is going to run the ball and they will attempt to score by running, but the tide defense should be up to stacking the box and shutting down the Vol game plan. Mean while the Tide o-line is improving and Darby and Croyle playing to the level people expected. This new found offense has given the defense a bit of a breather and when called upon the bama defense looks strong. This is a game the Tide has been looking toward and they will bring a solid offense, strong defense and excited crowd. Not to mention HUGE revenge considering the Vols have beat up on the Tide for the past few years. This includes 6 consecutive victories at Bama.

Texas A&M (-5) over K-State
Battle of the bad teams, A&M has not played up to what they were billed as and K-State IMO is just not good. Texas A&M is struggling on defense but even a straight pass rush should be productive against this patch work K-State O-line. The K-State offense wants to run the ball but they just cannot and with no line they also cannot give the young QB?s time to throw. K-State is not a very good 4-2 team, they should not have beaten Kansas or Marshall. Although I don?t think Texas A&M is the strongest 4-2 team they still have played decent teams. A&M found it?s offense against Okla St and at times the Aggies have shown they can score points. K-State will not be able to stop the A&M rushing attack and that is terrible news because then McNeal can torch them through the air. Texas Tech rushed for 15 yards, 15, yet they passed for 669. This K-state defense will be on their heels all afternoon, and that is good news for A&M, because they play better when they get off to a good start. Turnovers have been an issue for K-State as well and A&M can take advantage of those as well. This play is more based on how bad K-State is and the only thing they have going for them is home field advantage in this contest.

Cheers
Irish

 

[Irish]

Wisky (-7.5) over Purdue
Another play against Purdue and there over hyped team. Granted the badgers have not won games by an overwhelming score they still are a solid 6-2 team. Stocco (averages 202 yards passing per) has started to come on lately and having Calhoun and that big O-line has made it very easy for him. Also opens up the box for this powerful running game. The Badger defense is not good, and giving up 411 to the Gophers rushing game speaks of there poor play. The badgers steel curtain defense has allowed 85 points in its last 2 games as well. The D-line has suffered big injuries and they are very depleted. That Minnesota game should not been a win but a huge blocked kick for a TD propels them into this contest. As bad as the badgers look on defense the boilermakers look terrible too. The boilermakers rank dead last in pass defense (give up 369 per game) and Northwestern exploited Purdue through the air all game building up a 28-9 lead. There are questions at QB for the makers as well because Kirsch got pulled last week before getting back in the game and tossing a pick in the closing mins that sealed Purdue?s fait. Rumor has it; Curtis Palmer might get the start and @ Wisky the fans might make it hard for him to call plays and audible at the line. I don?t like this much chalk but I really don?t think Purdue is very good and if N?Western doesn?t get sloppy then they blow the doors off Purdue. Looking at the over in this game as well because but teams cannot stop the other. HOWEVER, Purdue shows they make big mistakes and turn the ball over, plus they have sputtered in drives. The Badgers have to jump all over the boilermakers and get the crowd behind them. N?Western does not have a good defense either but they held the boilermakers to 9 points in the first half. The Wisky defense can step up on a few drives and IMO the Purdue defense doesn?t hold the badgers and in the end they seal the deal.


Goodnight and good day and good morrow..... I need to find a blarney stone to pee on.....

Cheers
Irish

 

[BuffaloBill]

Irish,

Glad to see you are on Bama.

I have them as well, but it seems like most of the forum is on the side of the Vols. :sadwave:

Good luck to us.

 

[Irish]

No Write up's heading to the pub

LSU (-6)
UCLA (-9)
UTEP (-14) whoops

Smaller plays but none the less something to drink about

Cheers
Irish

 

[bookkilla]

I'm sure you meant UTEP -14 right?

Awesome week so far!