MICHIGAN STATE vs. PENN STATE ? November 20th, 12:00 pm
After last week?s 22-18 win over Indiana, long time Penn State HC Joe Paterno told his players, "I'm not going anywhere! I'm not leaving!" While Joe Pa has undoubtedly earned the right to stay on as long as he sees fit, that may not exactly be what his team wanted to hear. The win over Indiana put an end to a six game losing streak and while that may have provided a bit of respite for the old coach, questions about how long he will continue to coach and how his decision to stay will impact both the team and his legacy are not going away. The Nittany Lions will close out their fourth losing season in the past five years, regardless of what happens in this game against a red hot Michigan State team.
The Penn State offense has been troubled all season by a poor running game and inaccurate passing. The truth is that the Nittany Lions have been atrocious on offense and they rank last in the Big Ten in scoring with an average of 15.8 points per game. Not only will the Lions need to score significantly more, they will need to continue to play an excellent defensive game if they are going to have a prayer of stopping the Michigan State offense that is averaging a league best 458.4 yards per game.
The Michigan State Spartans prepare for their Big Ten finale coming off their best performance of the year. Last week they put a 49-14 beating on previously undefeated Wisconsin. They were also responsible for ruining Minnesota?s win streak on October 16th by handing them their first loss. Spartan QB Drew Stanton returned from a shoulder injury suffered against Michigan to play well last week against Wisconsin and when he is at his best, the Spartans are a dangerous offensive team. However, this explosive offensive unit owes its success in large part to a triple threat at running back, Jehuu Caulcrick, Jason Teague and DeAndra Cobb, who collectively are averaging 243.3 yards on the ground and are capable of breaking the big one at any moment.
While it is sad to see legendary Coach Paterno stubbornly resist the inevitable, this has to be viewed as a golden opportunity to fade him and his team. Simply put, MSU is scoring an average of 30.2 points per game and PSU is scoring only 15.8 against very similar competition and in half of their games this season the Nits have been held to 7 points or less.
The Verdict: Michigan State (-3.5)
SOUTH FLORIDA vs. CINCINNATI ? November 20th, 3:30 pm
This game features two of Conference USA's hottest teams with both still playing for a winning season and bowl eligibility. Cincinnati seems to have turned their season around with consecutive victories against three of C-USA's best teams and South Florida has now won back-to-back games after dropping three in a row.
South Florida?s RB Andre Hall is making a big impression in his first season at USF, ranked 11th nationally in rushing with 122.8 yards per game and 3rd nationally in all-purpose yards with 178.6 yards per game. While Hall is a threat, Bulls? QB Pat Julmiste has been very prone to turnovers and has passed for only 835 yards and 6 touchdowns to go along with his 6 interceptions this season. They?ll have their hands full facing a Bearcat Defense that allowed only 10 points to both Memphis and TCU and then were only the second team to hold Southern Miss to 24 points.
After the Bearcats lost to Army by a score of 48-29 on October 9th, Cincy QB Gino Guidugli called his team out and was quoted as saying they were the ?laughingstocks of college football.? Being embarrassed by your team leader in the national media usually has one of two effects on a football team and at least this time, it caused this Bearcat squad to look themselves in the mirror, dig a little deeper and come out and get the win (and cover) in their next three games. In those games, they averaged over 40 points and managed a pair of big upsets. That loss to Army was followed by a bye week and then a 49-10 thrashing of Memphis. We find Cincinnati in a similar situation here as they have not played since their 52-24 road win against Southern Mississippi on November 6th.
Since the Army game, the running game has been more productive and Guidugli?s passing has been nothing short of extraordinary without the interceptions that hurt the Bearcats during their 2-4 start. The defense has done its job as well recording 7 sacks and 6 takeaways over the past three games. Those three consecutive wins have put Cincinnati back in position to finish with a winning record and bowl eligibility, as they need only one more victory. This is probably their last shot at a win and the Bearcats are sure to come into this game a sense of urgency since their final game comes on the road against 8th ranked Louisville on November 27th.
The Verdict: Cincinnati (-11.5)
After last week?s 22-18 win over Indiana, long time Penn State HC Joe Paterno told his players, "I'm not going anywhere! I'm not leaving!" While Joe Pa has undoubtedly earned the right to stay on as long as he sees fit, that may not exactly be what his team wanted to hear. The win over Indiana put an end to a six game losing streak and while that may have provided a bit of respite for the old coach, questions about how long he will continue to coach and how his decision to stay will impact both the team and his legacy are not going away. The Nittany Lions will close out their fourth losing season in the past five years, regardless of what happens in this game against a red hot Michigan State team.
The Penn State offense has been troubled all season by a poor running game and inaccurate passing. The truth is that the Nittany Lions have been atrocious on offense and they rank last in the Big Ten in scoring with an average of 15.8 points per game. Not only will the Lions need to score significantly more, they will need to continue to play an excellent defensive game if they are going to have a prayer of stopping the Michigan State offense that is averaging a league best 458.4 yards per game.
The Michigan State Spartans prepare for their Big Ten finale coming off their best performance of the year. Last week they put a 49-14 beating on previously undefeated Wisconsin. They were also responsible for ruining Minnesota?s win streak on October 16th by handing them their first loss. Spartan QB Drew Stanton returned from a shoulder injury suffered against Michigan to play well last week against Wisconsin and when he is at his best, the Spartans are a dangerous offensive team. However, this explosive offensive unit owes its success in large part to a triple threat at running back, Jehuu Caulcrick, Jason Teague and DeAndra Cobb, who collectively are averaging 243.3 yards on the ground and are capable of breaking the big one at any moment.
While it is sad to see legendary Coach Paterno stubbornly resist the inevitable, this has to be viewed as a golden opportunity to fade him and his team. Simply put, MSU is scoring an average of 30.2 points per game and PSU is scoring only 15.8 against very similar competition and in half of their games this season the Nits have been held to 7 points or less.
The Verdict: Michigan State (-3.5)
SOUTH FLORIDA vs. CINCINNATI ? November 20th, 3:30 pm
This game features two of Conference USA's hottest teams with both still playing for a winning season and bowl eligibility. Cincinnati seems to have turned their season around with consecutive victories against three of C-USA's best teams and South Florida has now won back-to-back games after dropping three in a row.
South Florida?s RB Andre Hall is making a big impression in his first season at USF, ranked 11th nationally in rushing with 122.8 yards per game and 3rd nationally in all-purpose yards with 178.6 yards per game. While Hall is a threat, Bulls? QB Pat Julmiste has been very prone to turnovers and has passed for only 835 yards and 6 touchdowns to go along with his 6 interceptions this season. They?ll have their hands full facing a Bearcat Defense that allowed only 10 points to both Memphis and TCU and then were only the second team to hold Southern Miss to 24 points.
After the Bearcats lost to Army by a score of 48-29 on October 9th, Cincy QB Gino Guidugli called his team out and was quoted as saying they were the ?laughingstocks of college football.? Being embarrassed by your team leader in the national media usually has one of two effects on a football team and at least this time, it caused this Bearcat squad to look themselves in the mirror, dig a little deeper and come out and get the win (and cover) in their next three games. In those games, they averaged over 40 points and managed a pair of big upsets. That loss to Army was followed by a bye week and then a 49-10 thrashing of Memphis. We find Cincinnati in a similar situation here as they have not played since their 52-24 road win against Southern Mississippi on November 6th.
Since the Army game, the running game has been more productive and Guidugli?s passing has been nothing short of extraordinary without the interceptions that hurt the Bearcats during their 2-4 start. The defense has done its job as well recording 7 sacks and 6 takeaways over the past three games. Those three consecutive wins have put Cincinnati back in position to finish with a winning record and bowl eligibility, as they need only one more victory. This is probably their last shot at a win and the Bearcats are sure to come into this game a sense of urgency since their final game comes on the road against 8th ranked Louisville on November 27th.
The Verdict: Cincinnati (-11.5)
