Thursday, September 22, 2011

Week 4 Preview

The true football is here. No more cupcake games until homecoming. Conference play is truly starting. These are the 5 games that we will paying most attention to here at 4th and Inches Magazine.

1. An interesting game, North Carolina takes on the Rumbling Wreck at #25 Georgia Tech in Atlanta at 12pm EST on ESPN . Last week Georgia Tech put a 66 spot on Kansas. They rushed for over 604 yards last week. Their QB Tevin Washington has been very efficient, throwing for 637 yards, 7 TDs, and a 60.7% in completions. But we all know that the triple option in Georgia Tech is one of the most complex basic offenses that you will see. But it is so difficult to stop when run with the efficiency that Tech runs it. This attack can control the clock and keep a good offense off the field. Everett Withers has done a good job so far taking over for Butch Davis. Withers is a coach that will light a fire up under you, and they are a good defensive unit. If North Carolina can play good assignment football, this game is in the works for a good game. Whoever wins this game will be in front in the Coastal division of the ACC. North Carolina senior WR Dwight Jones is poised to have a big game against Georgia Tech. They haven’t seen a WR with the skill set that Jones has. They keep a pretty good WR. GT 28 NC 21


2. At 3:30 EST on CBS, #14 Arkansas travels to Tuscaloosa to take on #3 Alabama. This game will come down to Tyler Wilson and his ability to read the blitz. Alabama comes in with one of the best defenses in the country. Alabama has the ability get pressure quicker than any team in the country, bringing pressure from anywhere at any time. If Wilson can get time, Arkansas has one of the best groups of WRs in the country and he may be able to exploit the blitz packages. Loosing Knile Davis for the season really hurt Arkansas. They were expecting a lot from Davis this season. They were supposed to challenge for the SEC West crown with the balance that Davis provided. They haven’t been getting much from Wingo, Jr. He is going to have to step it up in this game if Arkansas is to stand even a small chance. Arkansas’ defense will get a steady dose of Richardson and Lacy. Both I and Alabama fans have noticed that Trent Richardson hasn’t been running like himself. Hopefully for Bama fans, he has come out of the slump. He was impressive last week (albeit against North Texas). Is Arkansas’ defense up to the task of stopping him? AJ McCarron makes some very risky throws and his decision making can be questioned. Will his risk continue to pay off? This is the meat of the schedule now. SEC defenses are way faster and more aggressive than the cupcake teams that they have been playing. And Alabama still has some unanswered questions. They have been playing cupcake teams and a down Penn State team. Let’s see what happens in this game. Also Arkansas has a two game gauntlet. First #3 Alabama, next week #8 Texas A&M. Alabama 24 Arkansas 14


3. The game of the weekend will be the game in College Station as #7 Oklahoma State will travel to town to take on #8 Texas A&M at 3:30 EST on ABC and ESPN 2. Oklahoma State comes in boasting an offense bringing back 10 starters that finished in the top 10 in almost every offensive category last week. Brandon Weeden and Justin Blackmon are one of the best duos in the country. Blackmon has had 100 yards receiving since the beginning of last season. They are replacing Kendall Hunter a 1500 yard rusher. They aren’t getting that same production from the RB position this year. Oklahoma State throws it around quite a bit, so Texas A&M has its work cut out for them. Sherman has the Texas A&M defense playing well. They have only given up 3 TDs all season and 534 yards. Yes they have been playing some cupcake teams and they have lost Von Miller to the draft. This will be a true test for their defense. On offense the tandem of Tannehill, Gray, and Fuller is going to be very tough to stop. Oklahoma State has not been doing a good job on defense at all. They are ranked 92nd overall defensively. Texas A&M will be tough for this team to overcome with the weapons they have upfront. TAMU 42 OK St 24


4. Coming off of a tough loss, #11 Florida State travels to #21 Clemson at 3:30 EST on ESPN. It was a physical game in Tallahassee last weekend. Florida State couldn’t pull off the win, but there are lingering doubts now in the ability of EJ Manuel to lead Florida State to the Promised Land. He won’t be dealing with as talented of defense as Oklahoma, nor will Clemson be dealing with a tackle missing defense that they took advantage of last week in Auburn. Tajh Boyd and the dynamic freshman Sammy Watkins are making for a great duo in Clemson, but they will have to work hard against a defense that is looking to redeem itself from last week. Florida State HAS to run the football or they are going to be in for problems. Defensive coordinators are going to start sitting back and making EJ Manuel read a defense. WR Kenny Shaw is questionable for the game after his big shot he took in the Oklahoma game and the concussion he suffered. EJ Manuel is questionable, but should be able to play. This game is going to be big for Florida State. It is going to determine which way their season is going to go. They could not establish the run against Oklahoma. No run game, no win.
FSU 27 Clemson 14
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5. #2 LSU travels to #16 West Virginia on ABC at 8:00 EST. Morgantown is a tough place to play, but with LSU’s defense, I don’t know if they are going to have many problems in this game. West Virginia let Maryland back into the game when they had it well under control. Dana Holgorsen has a high powered offense and his commitment to the pass game has the Mountaineers ranked 7th in the country. Geno Smith has thrown for over 1000 yards in the first three games of the season and the little playmaker Tavon Austin is having a great season catching 20 passes thus far in the season. But going against Claiborne and Mathieu, don’t expect too much passing in this game. Last week Mississippi State tried to throw at Claiborne and Oregon tried to attack Mathieu. We see how those games turned out for the opposing team. LSU boast one of the best secondary units in the country. This LSU defense is the fastest in the country, and has the deepest defense in the country. They can run one group of athletes out and another group in, and not lose any talent on the field. LSU has a true freshman Anthony Johnson playing DT. The kid is an absolute animal on the field. Look for him to dominate early against a West Virginia offensive line that does not move bodies well. West Virginia has not had much success running the ball all season; do not look for it to start now. LSU will, on the other hand run the ball down the throat of the 3-3-5 defense that West Virginia runs. Look for Spencer Ware and Michael Ford to both have big games. LSU 35 WVU 14

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