College Football: Top 5 Games to Watch in Week 9
Week 9 of the 2014 college football season will feature just two matchups between ranked opponents, including No. 3 Ole Miss at No. 24 LSU and No. 20 USC at No. 19 Utah.
Ole Miss has been thriving and is in the hunt for a playoff spot, but LSU will hope to give the Rebels trouble with its rushing attack in an always electric Death Valley atmosphere. USC, which has defeated Utah the last three years, is looking to win a difficult road game and keep itself in the Pac-12 title race.
Besides the two contests consisting of ranked teams, it’s basically highly ranked teams hoping to avoid upsets. Michigan State has had its way with rival Michigan, as it has only lost one game to the Wolverines since 2008 and has not lost at home in the series since 2007.
Auburn will look to keep itself in the national title picture against Steve Spurrier’s Gamecocks, who will be out of the SEC East Division race with a fourth conference loss.
A surging Ohio State team will play a night game at Penn State, where it hopes to avoid any sort of letdown and stay undefeated in Big Ten play.
With highly ranked teams looking to avoid upsets on Saturday, here are the top five games to watch.
Michigan at No. 8 Michigan State
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Michigan at No. 8 Michigan State, 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC
The series has been lopsided with Michigan State winning five of the last six meetings against in-state rival Michigan. The Spartans are again in the national title picture, while the Wolverines are just hoping to be bowl eligible at season's end.
Brady Hoke is obviously still on the hot seat, but at least his team was able to squeak out a close 18-13 home win against Penn State on Oct. 11 prior to its bye week. If there is a game senior quarterback Devin Gardner would like to win, it would be this one. Gardner, who has just six touchdown passes and eight interceptions on the season, continues to face criticism.
Michigan currently has one of the worst offenses in the country, recording only 340 yards and 21.7 points per game. Wide receiver Devin Funchess has been the only productive playmaker on offense with 461 yards and four touchdowns.
With Derrick Green suffering a season-ending collarbone injury against Rutgers on Oct. 4, De’Veon Smith needs to step up and at least gain small chunks of yardage against a physical Michigan State defensive front.
The pressure, of course, will be on the Wolverine defense, which is holding opponents to an impressive 93.6 rushing yards per game. Michigan has averaged just 12.3 points against Michigan State in the last four meetings, putting its defense in a tough position.
Mark Dantonio’s Spartans are rolling and appear to be in the College Football Playoff picture. Michigan State responded from a closer-than-anticipated 45-31 win over Purdue on Oct. 11 with a convincing 56-17 victory over Indiana. Senior running back Jeremy Langford rushed for 109 yards and found the end zone three times.
While Langford has been causing havoc for opposing defenses in the backfield, the receiving corps will look to give Michigan’s secondary difficulty. There is still no word on Wolverine freshman cornerback Jabrill Peppers' status.
Michigan State quarterback Connor Cook has been solid thus far, as he's recorded 1,641 passing yards, 16 touchdowns and just five interceptions. With a talented group of receivers led by Tony Lippett (786 yards, eight TDs), the Spartans should have success through the air as well.
Michigan State is by far more talented than Michigan, and it could be a repeat from last season with the Spartans dominating the line of scrimmage and shutting down a struggling Wolverine offense.
Prediction: Michigan State 35, Michigan 13
No. 3 Ole Miss at No. 24 LSU
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No. 3 Ole Miss at No. 24 LSU, 7:15 p.m. ET, ESPN
Ole Miss will have its toughest road test yet, as it takes on an improving LSU squad in Death Valley. A win for Hugh Freeze’s team would give the Rebels their first 8-0 start since 1962.
Quarterback Bo Wallace has been on a roll since taking down Alabama on Oct. 4. Wallace has passed for 377 yards, scored five total touchdowns and thrown no interceptions. The success of a receiving corps consisting of Laquon Treadwell and Vince Sanders has the Rebels averaging 35.4 points per game. The focus in this Saturday night matchup, though, will be on the defensive side.
Senior defensive back Cody Prewitt leads an Ole Miss defense that continues to surrender just 10.6 points per game to opposing offenses (first in the country).
The Rebels will be up against an LSU backfield that has talent with true freshman Leonard Fournette and senior Terrence Magee. Fournette has rushed for 544 yards and seven touchdowns, while Magee has 344 rushing yards and three touchdowns. The run game needs to have success, but the pressure will be on quarterback Anthony Jennings to make a bigger impact in the offense.
In the Tigers' four conference games, Jennings has averaged only 117.8 passing yards and has scored just two touchdowns.
The Tigers proved all of their critics wrong last week by stomping on Kentucky 41-3, but both the offense and defense will face much better competition this week. Defensively, LSU is holding its opponents to a solid 17 points per game, which ranks eighth in the country.
If Ole Miss’ offense gets a quick lead in the first quarter, as it did at Texas A&M on Oct. 11, it will be difficult for LSU’s offense to keep up. It’s hard to pick against a team that has outscored its last two opponents by a combined 69-23 since knocking off then-No. 3 Alabama 23-17.
In what should be a physical matchup down on the Bayou, Ole Miss comes away with its first win in Baton Rouge since 2008.
Prediction: Ole Miss 35, LSU 27
South Carolina at No. 5 Auburn
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South Carolina at No. 5 Auburn, 7:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network
Auburn heads into Saturday’s contest off a much-needed bye week after it lost to then-No. 3 Mississippi State on the road, 38-23. The Tigers need nothing more than to bounce back against a struggling Gamecock team to stay in the national title hunt.
Four turnovers against Mississippi State was the difference in Auburn's nine-game SEC winning streak being snapped. Quarterback Nick Marshall and wide receiver D’haquille Williams tried to rally the Tigers back by connecting on two touchdowns, but it was too late, as Mississippi State scored 10 unanswered points to put the game out of reach in the fourth quarter.
The run game, which is averaging 262 yards per game, needs to be potent with Marshall and running back Cameron Artis-Payne if the Tigers want to attack a South Carolina defense that has struggled against the run this season.
The Gamecocks have stumbled recently and put themselves in a difficult position to compete for their first SEC East Division title since 2010. A tough 21-20 loss at home to Missouri on Sept. 27, along with a surprising 45-38 upset loss at Kentucky on Oct. 4, hurt any chance they had of playing for a spot in the College Football Playoff. South Carolina eventually followed up those two close losses with a crushing victory over FCS Furman last week, but it will be no easy task traveling to No. 5 Auburn, where it has never won.
South Carolina will look to running back Mike Davis, who has rushed for over 100 yards in the last three games. With Davis facing a physical Auburn front that is only surrendering 120.7 rushing yards per game, quarterback Dylan Thompson must be able to make plays back in the pocket. Thompson currently ranks third in the SEC with 1,835 passing yards and 15 touchdowns.
If Auburn avoids costly turnovers on offense and wears out the Gamecock defense both on the ground and through the air, there is no way the Tigers drop a second consecutive game.
Prediction: Auburn 38, South Carolina 24
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No. 13 Ohio State at Penn State
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No. 13 Ohio State at Penn State, 8 p.m. ET, ABC
Since losing at home to Virginia Tech in Week 2, the Buckeyes have manhandled their last four opponents by an average of 38.8 points. Much of their success has come from freshman quarterback J.T. Barrett, who has been hitting on all cylinders by passing for 1,170 yards, rushing for 263 yards, scoring 20 total touchdowns and throwing just one interception since struggling against the Hokies.
Barrett currently heads an offense that is racking up 46.5 points and 259.8 rushing yards per game. The backfield has relied on sophomore running back Ezekiel Elliott (531 yards, four TDs), while Michael Thomas and Devin Smith have been threats in the passing game. Both receivers have combined for 732 yards and 10 touchdowns this season. With Ohio State’s recent success, it will now be challenged by a stingy Penn State defense in a hostile Beaver Stadium.
After starting 4-0, due in part to senior linebacker Mike Hull and the Nittany Lion defense, first-year head coach James Franklin’s team has lost its last two games to mediocre Northwestern and Michigan squads. The offense combined for just 19 points in both matchups and struggled to get any sort of spark offensively. Sophomore quarterback Christian Hackenberg hasn’t been himself, either, throwing one touchdown and three interceptions in his last four games.
Penn State’s offensive woes won’t get any help on Saturday night against a physical Buckeye defensive front consisting of defensive linemen Michael Bennett and Joey Bosa.
Offensively, Ohio State has the ability to get into the end zone a lot and should easily outscore Penn State, despite its sixth-ranked defense. Barrett will lead the Buckeyes into a white-out atmosphere, and they'll come away with their fourth consecutive win in Happy Valley.
Prediction: Ohio State 34, Penn State 17
No. 20 USC at No. 19 Utah
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No. 20 USC at No. 19 Utah, 10 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1
The clash between the Trojans and Utes late Saturday night will be one of the most intriguing games of the day. In what is just one of two games between ranked teams this week, there are Pac-12 South Division title hopes on the line.
Utah has been one of the biggest surprises in college football this season. If not for blowing a 27-14 lead in the fourth quarter to Washington State on Sept. 27, this team would be undefeated. The Utes, though, have managed to escape their last two games with close road wins over then-No. 8 UCLA and Oregon State.
The defense has been Utah’s most dangerous weapon this season, as it leads the nation with 33 sacks and has held opponents to 21.7 points per game. It has struggled against the pass, though, and will have to contain USC quarterback Cody Kessler, who is coming off a record-setting passing performance against Colorado.
Offensively for the Utes, their ground attack led by running back Devontae Booker (742 yards, seven TDs) has been successful, but the quarterback situation has been questionable with Travis Wilson and Kendall Thompson. Wilson is listed as the starter Saturday and will hope to have success against a USC defense that leads the Pac-12 with nine interceptions.
The Trojans head into Salt Lake City following a dominating 56-28 victory over Colorado, where Kessler threw for 319 yards and a career-high seven touchdowns. Kessler will look to dangerous wide receiver Nelson Agholor, who he connected with six times for 128 yards and three touchdowns last week.
Running back Javorius Allen leads the Pac-12 with 909 yards and eight touchdowns this season. Allen is on the verge of rushing for 100-plus yards for a fifth consecutive game. He'll do so if he gets the blocking he needs up front against a Utah defense holding opposing teams to 2.8 yards per rush attempt. Utah defensive end Nate Orchard is second in the nation with 10.5 sacks this season.
In a game that will feature two talented running backs and defenses that have the capability to keep opposing offenses out of the end zone, the Utes will prevail with a game-winning field goal and put themselves in contention for a Pac-12 South Division title.
Prediction: Utah 37, USC 34
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