B/R Experts Answer Biggest College Football Questions for Week 15
We won't lie to you and say Week 15 might have a major impact on the College Football Playoff picture. It won't. Only two of the top eight teams—No. 1 Alabama and No. 6 Florida—are playing, and they are both expected to beat their sub-.500 opponents by many points.
But in lieu of potential CFP chaos, it will be a fun weekend of "secondary" teams getting the spotlight for a change.
North Carolina at Miami should be an excellent, high-scoring affair between the best ACC teams not named Clemson or Notre Dame. If defense is more your speed, there's a good one between Wisconsin and Iowa kicking off at the same time. There are even a couple of Pac-12 games well worth your time with undefeated USC and undefeated Colorado both facing decent competition.
What should we expect in this final weekend before conference championships?
Bleacher Report's college football experts—David Kenyon, Adam Kramer, Kerry Miller, Joel Reuter and Brad Shepard—have offered their answers to some of the biggest questions in advance of this penultimate slate of the 2020 season.
No. 17 North Carolina at No. 10 Miami: Who You Got?
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Adam Kramer
I love this football game. In a week that lacks, well, a lot, this one feels like it could get a bit spicy.
Let's start with the quarterbacks. In moments, North Carolina's Sam Howell and Miami's D'Eriq King have looked like the best football players in America. Each has delivered video game-caliber performances, and there's a chance one (or both) will do that again in this contest.
In terms of overall balance, however, I like Miami.
One of the keys will be getting pressure on Howell, and the Hurricanes have the pieces across the defensive line to do that. That said, this scoreboard will be active all night. Turnovers and special teams could play a role, especially if the offenses are just trading touchdowns. There's a good chance that's the case.
If you have not spent ample time watching King play football of late, I suggest you change that immediately. He's one of the most exciting and rare players the sport has, and we will likely only get to watch him for a few more games at this level. Enjoy him while you can.
Miami takes it 41-37.
Kerry Miller
Before the season began, there was an outside chance this could be a 9-1 vs. 9-1 showdown. I really believed North Carolina was going to start 9-0 against a weak schedule before its playoff fantasy went up in smoke with back-to-back losses to Notre Dame and Miami.
Though the 7-3 Tar Heels had a few more missteps than expected, this should still be a great game with possible New Year's Six implications. If both Clemson and Notre Dame make the College Football Playoff, it's likely the winner of this one will take the ACC's spot in the Orange Bowl.
I expect that winner to be North Carolina.
Even with their tough showing in the loss to Notre Dame, the Tar Heels offense has averaged 560 yards and 44.3 points over their last eight games. And Miami's defense hasn't been anything special—shutout of lowly Duke last week notwithstanding.
The Hurricanes will do some scoring of their own against an even less impressive UNC defense, but I've got to roll with the more consistently great offense in what should be a shootout.
Javonte Williams is 96 rushing yards away from 1,000 for the year. Michael Carter is 63 shy of four digits. Dyami Brown needs 68 receiving yards to reach his 1,000-yard mark. They all get there with room to spare in a 49-42 victory.
Who Wins By More: Alabama at Arkansas or Buffalo vs. Akron?
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David Kenyon
Arkansas had a promising start, but the past month hasn't been kind to the Razorbacks. In three straight losses, they've given up 1,665 yards and 140 points. Alabama should be headed for another 50-point game and a comfortable win.
Still, that probably won't be as bad as Akron's loss to Buffalo.
On the bright side, the Zips finally won! They snapped a 21-game losing streak with a beatdown of Bowling Green last week. Legitimately: Good for them. Nevertheless, this defense has otherwise allowed 47.3 points per game, and the team lost 69-35 to Kent State, which lost to Buffalo 70-41. I'm not playing a transitive game to suggest a winning margin of 60-plus points, but the scores are a good reminder of how much better Buffalo is than Akron.
Kerry Miller
Akron won for the first time in more than two calendar years last week, and that's great for the Zips. But they entered that game against no good, very bad Bowling Green with an 0-4 record and an average scoring margin of negative-31.0. Moreover, in their first three contests, they allowed an average of 264.3 rushing yards and 4.3 rushing touchdowns.
It's kind of hard to imagine a world in which they waltz into Buffalo and do anything to stifle the team that's leading the nation in scoring, or slow down its star running back, Jaret Patterson, who is averaging 230.0 rushing yards and 4.0 touchdowns per game.
Alabama should have its way with Arkansas, but at least the Razorbacks are respectable, having scored a minimum of 21 points in eight consecutive games. That SEC contest might be a 45-17 type of blowout. But I could see Buffalo beating Akron 63-10.
Will Any of the Undefeated Teams in Action This Week Take an L?
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Brad Shepard
The two Pac-12 options are the most intriguing.
While the USC at UCLA game could be great, the Trojans (4-0) were clicking in every way, shape and form against Washington State last Sunday. It's tough to bet against them, no matter the rivalry. The Trojans passing game looks great, and the defense is playing fast and aggressive. They'll do just enough against UCLA.
The Colorado Buffaloes (4-0), on the other hand, will lose. It's been a great story through a strong start for Karl Dorrell's team. Tailback Jarek Broussard is a budding superstar. But they don't have enough offensive balance to top Utah. Kyle Whittingham's team is still trying to find itself this year, but it's got enough pieces to win.
It will be a grind-it-out, defensive struggle, but the Utes will load the box against Broussard and make the Buffaloes beat them through the air—something they can't do. I'll take Utah to win 24-20.
Kerry Miller
We're down to six candidates after the Ohio State and Cincinnati cancellations.
Alabama isn't losing to Arkansas. Nor is Buffalo losing to Akron. But each of the other four—USC at UCLA, Coastal Carolina at Troy, Colorado vs. Utah and San Jose State at Nevada—could result in the end of a perfect season. At any rate, there's no way I would place a four-way moneyline parlay on those four teams to win, because at least one of them is going down.
I'm reasonably confident Coastal Carolina will beat Troy. However, it's a road contest, and it's a classic trap game, one week after the marquee win over BYU and one week before the Sun Belt title tilt against Louisiana. It's conceivable the Chanticleers let that one slip away. Then again, Troy lost by 37 to Appalachian State and by 41 to BYU.
I also like Colorado to beat Utah, but that's a noon ET kickoff for the Pac-12, and we haven't seen much of 1-2 Utah yet, so who knows?
But UCLA will upset USC, and Nevada will knock off San Jose State. I really like what Chip Kelly has brewing with the Bruins, and the Wolf Pack are simply better than the Spartans.
Kyle Trask Over/Unders vs. LSU: 399.5 Yards; 4.5 Touchdowns?
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Brad Shepard
The Gators barely ran the ball last weekend against Tennessee, and it wasn't because they couldn't. They didn't have to. Kyle Trask dissected the Volunteers secondary for 433 yards passing and four touchdowns. LSU's defensive backfield is probably not quite that bad, but it has struggled for much of the season.
Translation: Trask will have a field day against the Bayou Bengals, and coach Ed Orgeron's seat is going to get hotter just one year after a national championship. People expected LSU to be a little worse this year after all the talent it lost, but they didn't expect the Tigers to be bad—and they're baaaad.
I'm going with over 399.5 on yards and the under on 4.5 touchdowns. The Gators will score at will as Trask tosses four touchdowns for 425 yards. Florida will exact some revenge for last year's 42-28 loss with a 48-28 victory.
Kerry Miller
LSU's secondary has been downright terrible, and I can't imagine this week's announcement of a self-imposed one-year bowl ban will suddenly snap the Tigers out of that funk.
I don't know what it looks like when a defense quits on a season twice, but the unit already seemed to be barely trying before the athletic department more or less announced it doesn't care about this season anymore. This could be a horrendously we-don't-give-a-you-know-what effort against a top Heisman Trophy candidate.
And on the Florida side, the Gators aren't even pretending to care about establishing the run anymore. Before the final four minutes of last week's win over Tennessee, they had 10 designed runs for 30 yards. They are all-in on padding Trask's stats, and that's why I'm all-in on both overs.
Maybe they call off the dogs before this gets too out of control, but I've got Trask going for 500 yards and five touchdowns in one of those classic, late-season statement performances—reminiscent of Joe Burrow's 489 yards and five touchdowns against Ole Miss last year, or Dwayne Haskins' 499 yards and five touchdowns against Northwestern in 2018.
Who Wins the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy?
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David Kenyon
Thanks to a 40-7 win over Navy in October, Air Force has the early lead in the annual race. Still, Navy could retain the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy with a victory Saturday.
But I'm not expecting much from an offense that has mustered just 3.7 yards per carry.
That's the program's worst average in this millennium. Even though Army's defense has softened a bit since a strong start, the Cadets have a considerable advantage.
The opposite part of the matchup is basically a wash. Army's offense is trending the wrong direction, and Navy has steadily progressed from the "we suck at football right now" comments after losing by 52 to BYU to playing decently competitive games. The biggest part of that is improved tackling, which is no surprise, since the team avoided contact as much as possible in fall camp.
I'm expecting a 17-14 type of low-scoring game in favor of Army. And all that to say Air Force knocks off Army to win the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy next Saturday anyway.
Kerry Miller
Army (7-2) has the superior record, but don't put too much stock in that because the Black Knights have faced three FCS teams and 0-10 Louisiana-Monroe. In the only game against a common opponent, Navy (3-6) erased a 24-0 deficit to win at Tulane, while Army lost by 26 to the Green Wave.
That said, I'm picking Army, because it has been more consistent on offense and stingier on defense.
The Black Knights are averaging nearly 300 rushing yards per game and have only allowed five rushing touchdowns through nine games. They also pretty well shut down Cincinnati's rushing attack.
Meanwhile, Navy has scored seven points or fewer four times and has allowed 22 rushing touchdowns.
The last time Army won this rivalry by more than double figures was in 1990, but I suspect it will end that drought this year. And the Black Knights will then ride that win to another one against Air Force next week.
Will Iowa or Wisconsin Win This Year's Heartland Trophy?
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Joel Reuter
What happened to the Wisconsin offense?
After piling up 94 points during their 2-0 start, the Badgers have managed just 13 points in their last two games against Northwestern and Indiana. Redshirt freshman quarterback Graham Mertz has completed 57.3 percent of his passes with one touchdown and four interceptions during that stretch, and things aren't going to be any easier against a tough Iowa defense.
Winners of five straight after a dominant second half against Illinois last week, Iowa ranks 16th in total defense at 326.4 yards allowed per game.
The Badgers are an extremely solid defensive team in their own right, which means this could quickly devolve into a classic ground-and-pound Big Ten game. It bears mentioning, though, that Iowa quarterback Spencer Petras is coming off his best game of the season.
He completed 18 of 28 passes for 220 yards and three touchdowns, adding a wrinkle to the Hawkeyes offense that had been missing in previous weeks. If he can put together another strong game under center and keep Wisconsin from stacking the box against the run, that winning streak will grow to six games.
Iowa 24, Wisconsin 21.
Kerry Miller
I don't know who will win, but I do know I'm betting the under.
The Badgers have been awesome on defense, leading the nation in yards allowed per game at a stingy 229.3. However, they only have a .500 record because their offense has been nothing short of terrible against teams with respectable defenses.
And Iowa has one of those respectable defenses. The Hawkeyes have held all seven of their opponents to 24 points or fewer. They've also forced multiple turnovers in six of their games. Thus, I expect this to be another game in which Wisconsin struggles to find the end zone. Anything more than 17 points from the Badgers would be a bit of a surprise at this point.
Then again, 17 might be enough, since this Wisconsin defense has yet to allow more than 17 in a game this season.
I'm going to go out on an unnecessarily specific limb and say this game goes to overtime tied at 13 before Iowa escapes with a win.
Is Texas Back (Enough to Save Tom Herman's Job)?
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Adam Kramer
Perhaps we should start with a different question, because the real question being pondered and discussed within the athletic department (and by Texas boosters) is simpler: Who else could we get to coach this team?
We believe that Urban Meyer, based on multiple reports this week, is not going to be that person. That allure of Meyer, of course, is akin to the rumors that surrounded Nick Saban after Mack Brown was relieved of his duties. The school had to try, although now Texas finds itself in a rather uncomfortable predicament.
Herman's buyout is north of $15 million, which is no easy sum to stomach. It's even harder with athletic departments being hit hard by COVID-19—even one with the kind of resources Texas has. Had Urban been willing and able, the check probably gets written with ease. But now, Texas is left wondering if another year of Herman is better than what's out there.
Matt Campbell? Steve Sarkisian? Maybe James Franklin? Someone else?
Herman has unquestionably underwhelmed. And now, because of the unknown surrounding his future, it looks like recruiting is starting to suffer. (Texas had the No. 3-ranked recruiting class in both 2018 and 2019. It was No. 8 last year. It's currently No. 17 in the 2021 class, per 247Sports.)
The team's three losses have come by a combined 13 points. You could argue for or against this being a positive, although there's no denying they have been close. Still, 31-18 overall and 22-14 in conference play are not up to standards. Yet, there might not be any better option than to hope close losses morph into wins next season.
Kerry Miller
I'll echo Adam's overall "If not Tom Herman, then whom?" sentiment here and assume the Longhorns stick with him at least one more year. (Although, how amazing would it be if Texas hired Jim Harbaugh? And it gets announced in between the College Football Playoff semifinals. That would break college football Twitter, right?)
If Texas fans are expecting the success enjoyed during Mack Brown's heyday, maybe readjust those expectations a bit. Because things have gone pretty well under Herman—certainly a whole lot better than they did for Charlie Strong's three seasons.
The Longhorns were one of the only teams to put up a legitimate fight against LSU last year. They played in the Big 12 championship the year before that, finishing that season ranked in the AP Top 10. And in all three losses this season, they either held a lead in the final five minutes of regulation or forced multiple overtimes.
That's how close they have been to turning a corner and legitimately competing for a title. Starting over with a new coach—particularly in a year when every single player is eligible to return for another season—seems like an awful decision.
The good news for Herman is he could finish the season on a high note. The Longhorns just put up 69 points against Kansas State. I don't much believe in momentum carrying over from one season to the next, but if they can polish this off with a nice bowl win over a Big Ten or SEC team, it would at least stifle the mounting frustration fans have with Herman.
Which Game Between Unranked Teams Will Be Most Entertaining?
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Joel Reuter
The matchup between 6-1 Nevada and 5-0 San Jose State might be the most relevant, with the winner likely moving into the AP Top 25 and playing for a Mountain West title.
However, in terms of sheer entertainment value, give me Houston at Memphis.
Because who doesn't love a shootout between two teams with utter disdain for playing defense?
Each squad is both amassing and allowing at least 425 yards and 30 points per game on the year, even with Memphis stumbling a bit lately with just 31 combined points in its last two games.
The Cougars have not played since Nov. 14 when quarterback Clayton Tune went wild against South Florida, throwing for three touchdowns and rushing for 120 yards and two more scores in a 56-21 blowout. As long as there's no rust to shake off, he should pick up right where he left off against the Tigers defense.
This one could be a race to 50 points, and I'll take Houston by a touchdown on the road.
Kerry Miller
There are quite a few good candidates here. San Jose State at Nevada is a big one to determine who plays in the Mountain West championship. Virginia at Virginia Tech is a no-love-lost game in which the loser might get left out of the bowl picture. Houston at Memphis is great if you love points. Army-Navy is a classic if you love history and America.
But in lieu of one of those good games, I'm most intrigued to see what happens in a very bad game between 2-6 Tennessee and 0-8 Vanderbilt.
The Volunteers haven't won a game in more than two months, and the Commodores...um, yeah. Vanderbilt already fired its coach a couple of weeks ago. If the Vols lose this one, would they can Jeremy Pruitt on the spot?
The intriguingly disturbing part of this game is that it also might have bowl season implications.
The SEC is probably going to send four teams to the New Year's Six. The league also has an affiliation—either a guaranteed spot or a potential alternate spot—with eight other bowls (Citrus, Gator, Outback, Liberty, Music City, Texas, Birmingham and Gasparilla). Four plus eight equals 12 possible spots for a 14-team league in which LSU has already imposed a postseason ban. Maybe (hopefully) the SEC doesn't fill all of them, but if it does, that means one of these teams is getting in.
Gross. But I'm probably going to hate watching it just like I did Michigan-Penn State two weeks ago.
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