GAME PREVIEW: ILLINOIS AT MICHIGAN STATE

There are a couple of unbeaten teams playing in early games this coming Saturday (10/16). Most notably the 6-0 Michigan State Spartans host The Fighting Illini. MSU, led by Coach Dantonio, has been playing some inspired ball this year. Illinois is coming off a a close game with Ohio State which they ended up losing and a big time win in Happy Valley over Penn State.

Let's take a closer look.

Illinois (3-2) @ Michigan State (6-0)
Noon - Big Ten Network

Michigan State is undefeated. They have taken down Notre Dame, Wisconsin, and Michigan. This team has some big wins under their belt, but are they due for an emotional let down? QB Kirk Cousins has been playing lights out this year. He's completing almost 70% of his passes, and he's been putting up the yards: 1416 with 10 TDs so far in 2010.


Cousins has been getting some great support from the O Line, and his young running back duo: Edwin Baker and Le'Veon Bell. Combined the pair has put up 1232 yards and 14 TDs. They will continue to put up great yards on Saturday, as the Illinois defense is improved from last year, but still not all the way there. This Michigan State team has seen their share of excitement both good and bad, as they beat Notre Dame in a thriller back in Week 3 on a fake field goal. The play called, "Little Giants" is definitely in the running for Play of the Year, but later that night, Coach Dantonio had a mild heart attack. He's been easing back, but that is some serious stuff, and The Spartans have answered the call by ralling around their coach. They are playing inspired football this year.

Illinois lost to Missouri in the season opener. They did not have enough to beat Missouri, who is currently undefeated at 5-0. Illinois' plan of attack will center around their Junior, Mikel Leshoure. He's been having a good year. He came up big against Penn State, where he rushed for 116 yards on 27 carries, and he caught a big time play that ended up going for 32 yards. He was instrumental in Illinois' first win in Happy Valley. Illinois' receivers will have to continue to play hard. Jenkins and Fayson will have to be ready for one of the tougher more inspired defenses they have seen all year. But let's be honest, no one is scared of Illinois' passing attack which currently ranks 114th in the country. It's all about the ground game which ranks 19th nationally. Be sure keep an eye on Michigan State's star linebacker, Greg Jones (#53). He's the real deal. As for Illinois, they have a star in cornerback Terry Hawthorne (#12).

Coach Ron Zook has been teetering on the hot seat, but he has a way of quieting the masses. I like Michigan State at home on this one. MSU will move to 7-0 and Illinois moves to 3-3. Look for the Spartans to win by 10.



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GAME PREVIEW: SOUTH FLORIDA AT WEST VIRGINIA

The Big East conference cranks up a notch this weekend, and we will have a much clearer picture of who the real contenders are come Saturday night. The conference takes center stage this Thursday night as West Virginia opens up conference play. It is pretty amazing, here we are Week 7 and West Virginia is about to play their first conference game of the year. With the game just a couple days away let's take a closer look.


South Florida @ West Virginia
7:30 PM - ESPN

West Virginia is defending their home turf again this week as South Florida comes to Morgantown. WVU is coming off a win over UNLV, where they beat up on the Rebels with a 39 point victory. The only loss West Virginia has seen this year came at the hands of LSU, as the Mountaineers lost by 6. WVU really had a chance in pulling out the win, but they ran into the current luckiest man in college football, Les Miles, and the extremely talented LSU Tigers. As mentioned earlier this is West Virginia's first sight of conference action, so look for them to come out ready.

West Virginia's Team Defense is stout, and they should be pretty inclined at the stopping the Bulls' 103rd Passing attack in the country. WVU is led by the likes of Robert Sands (Safety), Brandon Hogan (CB), JT Thomas (LB), and Chris Neild (DT). Overall, one of the best defensive units in the Big East.

West Virginia's QB, Geno Smith, hovers around 66% completion percentage on the year and his career. He's put up almost 1200 yards on the season and 12 TDs. Geno's two main targets at WR are Tavon Austin and Jock Sanders. The duo has combined for 53 receptions, 652 yards, and 4 TDs .  WVU's main option out of the backfield, Noel Devine is averaging 5.3 a carry with 475 yards on the year with 4 TDs. Needless to say this team can light up when given a crease.

So far the Skip Holtz led Bulls have dropped two games. They lost to Florida (Week 2) 14-38. But watching that game, they really blew it at the close of the first half as USF saw their lead evaporate as Florida clawed back in right as the 1st half came to a close. It was really the first noticeable chink in the Florida armor this year, but the The Gators still pulled out the victory as the team is young and in the midst of a reloading period. Bottom line The Gators are still better than USF at every position. The Bulls also missed a great opportunity when the lost a key home game last week when Syracuse came to town. The Cuse is 4-1 this year, matching Doug Marrone's wins from last year where they went 4-8.

The South Florida tailbacks have been productive. Together they have amassed 542 yards and 5 TDs on 108 carries. They will have to step big against the West Virginia defense. As for South Florida's receiving unit, well, it has been pretty disappointing this year. The bright spots have come via Bogan and Landy. They have combined for 24 receptions, 2 TDs, and 434 yards on the season.

South Florida is led by B.J. Daniels, who is having a pretty good year, but his 52% completion percentage has to improve if he wants to win on the road in Morgantown. In the end I like the Mountaineer's defense, offensive weapons, and Bill Stewart's staff. In the end, WVU at home will prove too much for South Florida. I like WVU by 14.


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GAMECOCKS SEND THE TIDE PACKING WITH A 35-21 THRILLER IN COLUMBIA

Friends,

I want to start off by saying how blessed I was to be at this game. It was a historic win for the Gamecocks. Quite simply, it was the biggest win in the program's history. College Football always delivers, and yesterday with the ESPN GameDay and CBS Sports in town, Coach Spurrier's Gamecocks delivered by taking down the undefeated, defending National Champs.

It was clear leaving Charleston at 7 AM that something was in the air. A heavy fog covered I-26 for the majority of the drive to Columbia. While attending ESPN College GameDay, I noticed the pulse of Gamecock Nation was off the charts. Optimism and hope was abound, as a focused fan base knew what was at stake.

The game kicked off, and it was clear from the first drive that Bama was going to have their hands full, as the Gamecocks were prepared and well versed on what The Tide were trying to do. South Carolina held Alabama to an early field goal. Carolina got the ball and marched straight down the field and capped it off with a Lattimore score. Carolina never looked back from there, as they controlled the lead the rest of the afternoon. Carolina got the ball back and put up another 7 with a nasty play by Alshon Jeffery as he reeled in a 26 yard pass for a TD.

(Photo courtesy Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)

At the end of the first quarter it was USC 14 - Bama 3, and we were on our way. Out of the gate it was apparent Carolina had a little more pep in their step.

The second quarter started off with another Alshon Jeffrey touchdown, and it was quickly 21-3. Both teams battled for the remainder of the quarter, but it was not until the closing seconds until Bama officially got on the board with a TD. McElroy hit Julio Jones on a beauty. However Bama missed the PAT confirming that things were not clicking for the Tide, and there we were 21-9 at the half.

Carolina kicked first, so they got the ball to start of the second half. The opening kick was bobbled. The crowd started to get that "here we go again" feeling. Things got worse for Carolina as the opening snap resulted in Garcia chucking the ball out of the end zone to "avoid" the Tide, but it was a preemptive move that resulted in a safety. Carolina kicked off to Bama who was setup with great field position. The Gamecock D held the Tide to a field goal, and Coach Spurrier saw another opportunity missed. The Gamecocks basically spotted Alabama 5 points out of the gate, but they still had the lead. Midway through the 3rd it was 21-14.

Carolina put together another nice drive, which was capped off by another Marcus Lattimore TD. This was a close range TD that showcased an option right, that for all account and purposes looks unstoppable. My take away from this option play was anytime Carolina needs to get some yardage, then they need to look no further than an option play to Lattimore. If it is Lattimore versus any cornerback in the country 1 on 1, my money is on Lattimore. So there we had it at the close of the 3rd Quarter, with Carolina up 28-14.

The 4th started off with a quick Alabama score as McElroy hooked up with Darius Hanks for 51 yard TD strike. But that was it for Bama as they teetered on the comeback, but could not break through Carolina's stout play. The Gamecocks put up another Lattimore TD to bring the final to 35-21, just as the sunset on Columbia. It was a picturesque close to an amazing day in Columbia.

Carolina broke out of the post game prayer, and the entire team made a bee-line to the student section which was producing enough energy to power a nuclear reactor. The pandemonium continued into the street, as Gamecock Nation poured into the streets hooting and hollering and high-fiving everyone. It was all the police could do to keep joyful mayhem from ensuing. To describe the scene as anything less than memorable would be an understatement.

It was said earlier in the week on Bill King's Rivals Radio that Bama would have to play their worst game, and Carolina would have to play their best. Carolina certainly played their best, and they officially did not make anything easy for the Crimson Tide who ultimately never found their groove all day in Columbia.

A lot of credit has to go to Coach Spurrier. He called a great game. He withheld no punches and came out gunning for touchdowns from the outset. He knew field goals would not cut it and he called one heck of a gutsy game.

(Photo courtesy Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)

Garcia/Lattimore/Jeffrey also get game balls. They came out and put together one heck of an offensive showcase. The O line came together and gave Garcia time to do his job. Garcia finished 17-20 (18-20 in my book as the interception hit is receiver right in the hands, but he could not haul in the catch which resulted in an INT) with 3 TDs. Lattimore was stud. He racked up 93 hard fought yards and 2 TDs. Alshon Jeffery was unreal. He hauled in 7 catches for 127 yards and 2 TDs. All on a stout but young Alabama defense.

In addition, you have to give a ton of credit to the Carolina Defense. They had McElroy running for his life most of the day, as they got key sacks throughout the game. They also held the Ingram/Richardson duo to just 64 yards and 0 TDs. Alabama finished with a sub par 5-13 on 3rd Down conversions.

The College Football season is like a hurricane, and yesterday Columbia, SC was the eye of that hurricane.


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WEEK 4: THOUGHTS FROM THE WEEKEND

 What a Saturday of football. We saw Texas go down to UCLA, BAMA hold court on the road, Auburn defend their home turf, Stanford dominate the Irish, and Boise State get another W.


1. Alabama 24 - Arkansas 20
Upfront and Center - Bama at Arkansas. This was an instant classic. Back and forth the whole day. Alabama stayed calm, cool and collected. The Tide put the pressure on Mallett, and the pick he threw in the end zone, plus the pick at the end of the game will leave Mallett, Petrino and Razorback Nation wondering what could have been. Mallett had 1 TD and 3 INTs. In the end, Bama was too strong and too disciplined to lose this one. Ingram finished with 2 TDs, 157 yards on 24 carries.



2. UCLA 34 - Texas 12
Texas falls to UCLA. The Bruins came in and produced Coach Rick Neuheisel's Signature Win. Texas produced more your yards than UCLA, but football is not about out-gaining opponents its about scoring more and the turnover battle. Both key battles Texas lost today. Texas can't expect to win with that many fumbles. Once again Texas' ground game comes into question.


3. Stanford 37 - Notre Dame 14
Stanford looks like one of the best coached teams in the country. Coach Harbaugh is up for my Coach of the Year award, and for very good reason - This Stanford team lost Heisman hopeful Toby Gerhart and has not miss a beat in their 2010 Campaign. They went on the road and played in hostile territory, but ultimately came away with a win against the Irish. Nate Whitaker's field goals were key in the road win.


4. Oregon State 24 - Boise State 37
Say what you want - Boise just keeps Winning. Boise hosted the Beavers from Corvallis last night and again the Broncos send home another team, upset, angry and frustrated. Kellen Moore is the real deal, with very efficient passing. He finished with almost 300 yards passing and no picks. Key stat was the 3rd Down Battle as Oregon State was just 3-13 and Boise was 9-14. That's about all you need to hear. Boise moves the sticks, and they did it again last night.


5. South Carolina 27 - Auburn 35
What a game on The Plains last night. Another SEC game that did not disappoint. With that being that being said, Garcia really did disappoint. 2 fumbles had him on the bench last night as it came down to the wire, so Coach Spurrier opts to go with Conner Shaw. I can't say I blame him. Garcia's a senior and he should be protecting the ball. With all that being said Auburn made things really uncomfortable for a very good Carolina team all night. Great home win for Auburn. The "Yes We Cam!" campaign slogan is great stuff and accurate.


6. Georgia 12 - Miss State 24
Welcome to Chernobyl, Dawg fans.
Big home win for Mississippi State. Dan Mullen has things on the upswing. Coach Mark Richt and company have things clearly going in the wrong direction. Dawg Nation is up in arms and for very good reason. The UGA program has noticeably eroded. Its time to shake it up in Athens. I would start by taking a good long look at Mike Bobo's production or lack there of and go from the there.One thing is for certain with a fumble in the red zone against Carolina, and the fumble last night in the red zone against Miss. State, Washaun Ealey should not be touching the ball in the red zone from here on out. Georgia can't afford to be fumbling in the red zone if they want to win.


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