The Tigers have to get their head out of the clouds and bounce back from a great effort by Arkansas State last week.
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No. 4 Michigan St. (2-0) did not play.
In order to make a bowl, the Wildcats have to win every game they’re supposed to win and pull out a couple on the fringe. Oh, by the way, they also lost their starting quarterback in the first game of the season, but their offense hasn’t missed a beat. That is why Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Oregon make the top three of most loved teams on this list.
Elsewhere around the college football world, No. 1 Ohio State avoided being the second-biggest story of the week by finding a way to overcome five turnovers and less than 300 yards of offense in a 20-13 win over Northern Illinois.
I’m glad Auburn is back to being an underdog and doubted by many. Everything unraveled against a very confident LSU.
Still, the conference saw several impressive individual performances from its biggest stars including LSU’s Leonard Fournette and Georgia’s Nick Chubb. Jeremy Johnson didn’t look too good through his first 2 games throwing 3 TDs against 5 INTs. Pick: LSU. Arkansas and Auburn are desperate to prove their lackadaisical performance in week 2 was an aberration. Though Alabama’s secondary is suspect, you don’t want to get into a one-dimensional game against the Tide.
“This game is going to determine how good Ole Miss and Alabama are”, Brewer said. At this point, Henry is a reliable known quantity. The Crimson Tide average less than half at 36 ppg.
Meanwhile, Alabama is still trying to find a steady quarterback between Jacob Coker and Cooper Bateman. It did not go well. If both of those games showcase classic, hard-nosed football, the nation will have to take notice and admit that the SEC can still play ball. They are consistently a top ten program, and that makes fans of other teams hate them. There wasn’t anything stunning or magical about it. Stanford played methodical, sound football and simply won because they were better, despite being outgained by 50 yards. In the season opener two weeks ago, tailback C.J. Prosise replaced the injured Tarean Folston.
No team’s stock has been more volatile this season than Stanford’s.
Nevada’s a decent mid-major from the Mountain West Conference, so this is yet another tune-up against an opponent with one or two teeth, but not a mouthful of sharp ones, like the SEC.
CSU Rams players celebrate with the Centennial Cup after defeating the the CU Buffaloes 31-17 in the Rocky Mountain Showdown at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on August . 29, 2014.
Yes, Rebels’ QB Chad Kelly has opened to rave reviews, and his strong arm is a threat, but he won’t be able to pick apart Alabama’s defense like he did UT-Martin’s and Fresno State’s. They’re 2-0 with both of those wins coming on last-second Hail Mary passes into the end zone. I think they’ll be a lot better by the end of the season. The SEC has plenty of flaws, just like everyone else. They are going to be in tough again on the road this weekend when they visit No. 6 USC.
With the defense being completely ineffective, Auburn has to rely on offense to keep it in the game. MSU had 378 total yards including 335 passing yards.
This is an experienced and talented UCLA team that is capable of picking up the slack when its freshman quarterback hits those inevitable bumps. Next: vs. No. 19 BYU, Saturday.
Next is South Carolina at No. 7 Georgia (ESPN, 6 p.m.), which could be easier than expected for the Bulldogs with Gamecocks quarterback Connor Mitch out and walk-on Perry Orth in.
What many thought before the season is probably going to hold true: Nobody is going undefeated in this conference. While the Fighting Irish offense is already depleted, the biggest problem for Notre Dame will be its defense, which looked sluggish against Virginia in Week 2. Tonight they host the Rebels, one of the hottest teams in the country.
However, all eyes will be on the Notre Dame defense as it tries to stop Georgia Tech’s triple option offense.
Everything continues to click.
With Malik Zaire out with a season-ending ankle injury, Notre Dame’s success ultimately will come down to how well DeShone Kizer can play behind center.
Also, senior running back CJ Prosise ran for 155 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries.
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Derrick Henry has 243 yards and six touchdowns through two games this season.
