No. 11 UCLA at No. 15 Arizona State
Going into Tempe is tough, just ask any Badgers fan, and coming off a bye week, the UCLA Bruins face their toughest test of the season thus far when they take on Arizona State on Thursday night.
UCLA is a very unconvincing 3-0 this season, winning by one possession in all three games, This includes an opening day head-scratcher against Virginia, by a touchdown in their home opener against Memphis and by a field goal against a sub-par Texas team.
Heisman candidate Brett Hundley may or may not play against the Sun Devils, though backup Jerry Neuheisel played admirably in relief against Texas.
On the other side of the field, starting quarterback Taylor Kelly will not play against the Bruins, leaving Mike Bercovici as the quarterback.
While Neuheisel played well, Bercovici did not. Bercovici completed 2-of-4 passes for eight yards and chipped in -3 yards on four carries.
If he’s asked to carry the load on offense, the Sun Devils could be in trouble. I’d look for the Bruins to win this one, but it could be sloppy.
Arkansas at No. 6 Texas A&M in Arlington, Texas
Much to the chagrin of Wisconsin fans, Arkansas has looked startlingly competent in their second season under former head coach Bret Bielema.
They are eighth in rushing yards and third in the country in points, en route to a 3-1 start including a 49-28 win against Texas Tech in Lubbock and a 52-14 win last week against Northern Illinois.
Arkansas’ schedule is an absolute nightmare coming up with consecutive games against No. 6 Texas A&M in Arlington, No. 3 Alabama and No. 12 Georgia in Fayetteville. To make matters worse for the Razorbacks, that is the first of two stretches where they play three ranked teams in a row.
Arkansas has a good chance to win its first SEC game, November 28, and even playing at Missouri is no gimme. Arkansas has not won a conference game under Bielema and I would be shocked if it happened this week at AT&T (new Cowboys) Stadium.
Texas A&M hasn’t missed a step in the transition from Johnny Football to Kenny Trill. After opening the season with an emphatic thumping of South Carolina in Columbia 52-28, Hill and the Aggies have systematically torn apart opposing defenses to the tune of the fourth most passing yards per game in the country and the second most points per game.
The Aggies get into the teeth of their schedule after this game, playing three straight ranked teams, culminating in a trip to Bryant-Denny Stadium to play No. 3 Alabama for potential SEC West supremacy.
Look for Arkansas to run the ball, and then run some more, but the Aggies defense has been stout and Hill has been sublime. If Arkansas is forced to throw, they will lose big, and I’d expect this game get out of hand quickly.
Syracuse vs. No. 8 Notre Dame in East Rutherford, N.J.
Syracuse has not been very good, but this week doesn’t feature too many marquee matchups and this one’s being played at a neutral site, so it makes this preview anyway.
After starting 2-0, Syracuse lost at home to Maryland 34-20 and had the Terrapins as close as 14-13 in the second quarter before the wheels totally fell off.
Notre Dame on the other hand has moved up to No. 8 after beating Rice and Michigan at home before taking down Purdue in Indianapolis.
The Fighting Irish looked absolutely world-beating against Michigan, though that could have partially been because of just how terrible the Wolverines have been this year, en route to the first shutout of Michigan in 365 games.
Everett Golson has been just what the doctor ordered for the Irish, completing 64.6 percent of his passes and racking up 780 passing yards and seven touchdowns. The senior from Myrtle Beach, S.C., sat out last year after breaking the honor code and the Irish struggled heavily without him.
Look for this to be a game throughout as Syracuse has plenty of fans in the tri-state area but crowd noise will hardly be an issue for the Irish in the home of the New York Jets and Giants.
Tennessee at No. 12 Georgia
On the opening weekend, with a heavily underclassman lineup, Tennessee demolished Chuckie Keeton and the Utah State Aggies 38-7 at home.
After a significantly less convincing win against Arkansas State, the young Volunteers traveled to No. 4 Oklahoma and promptly got sent back to Knoxville with their tails between their legs.
Playing a big game in Norman will be important as they enter their SEC schedule, though things certainly will not be easy for them as they travel between the hedges to play Georgia in Samford Stadium.
Georgia lost its opening SEC game in Columbia in one of the best games of the season, marred by a questionable intentional grounding call, which took them off the goal line and eventually out of the end zone.
Last week, Georgia had a phenomenal day on the ground and it let them rest Todd Gurley at the end of the first quarter. Gurley picked up 73 yards on just six carries but it was freshman Sony Michel who did the heavy lifting. Michel carried the ball only 10 times but picked up 155 yards and three touchdowns.
I would be surprised if Tennessee gave the Georgia rushing attack too many problems as the three-headed rushing monster of Gurley, Michel, Keith Marshall will be too much for the Tennessee front seven. Additionally, quarterback Hutson Mason is more than qualified to make all of the throws to keep the chains moving.
No. 16 Stanford at Washington
Stanford has given up 13 points all season in its three games, good for top in the country at 4.3 points allowed per game. However, all 13 of those came in the matchup with USC, which Stanford lost 13-10.
But this tilt will be strength against strength as Washington is averaging 41.3 points per game including 49.3 in its last three. Washington’s defense has been suspect at times as they allowed 52 points to FCS Eastern Washington.
This Pac-12 matchup has enormous implications for the Cardinal as a second loss in the conference would be damning if they want a shot at the Pac-12 title game as the Pac-12 North goes through Eugene.
For Washington, the Huskies catch three of the four ranked teams on their schedule at home. If they can win two of those games, it would be a huge step in the right direction for Chris Petersen in his first year as head coach of the Huskies. Petersen has never won fewer than eight games in a season and won double-digit games for seven straight seasons while at Boise State.
I’d look for this game to be a low-scoring affair with the Cardinal edging this one out in the fourth quarter.
