No. 15 LSU at No. 5 Auburn
Tiger on Tiger violence in Alabama. LSU looks to get on the right track in the SEC following their tough home loss to Mississippi State. Meanwhile, the Tigers from Louisiana are coming off a 63-7 complete trashing of New Mexico State.
LSU is carried by two star running backs, freshman Leonard Fournette and senior Kenny Hilliard. Both backs have four touchdowns on the year and almost 300 yards a piece.
LSU’s offensive stats, although impressive, may be boosted by a weak nonconference schedule. The Tigers have high scoring victories over New Mexico State, UL-Monroe and Sam Houston State.
The other Tigers in this battle are coming off a strong road win against Kansas State. Auburn’s terrific rushing attack hasn’t missed a beat since their run to the SEC championship last year.
I like the Tigers to win this one. See what I did there?
No. 6 Texas A&M at No. 13 Mississippi State
Texas A&M and Kenny Hill are on a roll this season and already have two impressive SEC wins, a 52-28 thrashing of South Carolina and an overtime thriller against Arkansas.
Sophomore quarterback Kenny Hill is putting up impressive numbers and making everyone in College Station ask the question, “Johnny who?”
Hill has 1,745 passing yards for 17 touchdowns this season and the Aggies offense is averaging 51 points per game this year, second in the nation.
Mississippi State is coming off a fantastic showing on the road against LSU. Their undefeated record has them sitting at No. 12 nationally.
The Bulldogs are led by quarterback Dak Prescott. He has 964 passing yards this year and 11 touchdowns.
Mississippi State already has an impressive win this year; the Bulldogs will be thrust into the national playoff discussion if they can make it two in a row.
No. 14 Stanford at No. 9 Notre Dame
The Stanford Cardinal have had a season of ups and downs. It lost a tough game to USC 13-10 but dug out a win at Washington 20-13 last week.
Frankly, this Stanford team’s offense is lacking, but its defense is as stout as they come.
That defense will be put to the test as it faces Everett Golson and the Notre Dame passing attack. The Irish are averaging 35 points a game; Golson has over 1,100 yards on the season.
These two teams have faced off for some classics over the past few years. Notre Dame is trying to keep its perfect season alive.
No. 19 Nebraska at No. 10 Michigan State
A Top 25 Big Ten battle is coming to East Lansing. The Spartans are still reeling from their tough road loss against Oregon.
Nebraska comes into this contest undefeated, thanks to an impressive win over Miami and a Matrix-style bullet dodge against McNeese State.
This will be the biggest test for the Huskers so far. Bo Pelini has gone 8-4 in his past few seasons with the team. If Pelini is to turn things around and bring the Huskers back to their glory days, this is where it starts.
Nebraska teams of seasons past would roll over under the lights in East Lansing, but there’s something different about this team. The Huskers are third in the nation in rushing and seventh in points scored.
The Spartans are still one of the top teams in the nation despite their single loss. They obliterated Wyoming and Eastern Michigan and are averaging over 50 points a game.
The stats say that this will be a shootout, but I think this matchup will revert to an old school, Big Ten slugfest. The home field advantage looks to be the difference in this matchup.
No. 4 Oklahoma at No. 25 TCU
The Sooners are looking to be a strong contender for a spot in the College Football Playoff. They have impressive wins over Tennessee and West Virginia and hope to keep their march going strong at TCU.
Trevor Knight is growing into the quarterback many expected, throwing four touchdowns and over 1,000 yards. The Sooners also have two running backs with five touchdowns apiece.
TCU comes into this contest undefeated as well after a strong win against Minnesota.
Its high powered offense is held down by quarterback Trevone Boykin who has eight touchdowns on the season.
The Horned Frogs will be playing in front of an amped home crowd, but look for the Sooners to be too much to handle by the end of this contest.
