3rd and Goal: Week 9 Preview

3rd and Goal: Week 9 Preview
This week in college football will be focused more on what game will be happening next week in Tuscaloosa than the games that are going on this week. The #1 and #2 teams will be facing off next week and they both have a bye this week. That doesn’t mean that this weekend doesn’t have some great games that will take place. Let’s review the key matchups.

1. First game of the day will be #11 Michigan State traveling to take on #14 Nebraska. Sparty is coming off of a very emotional game beating Wisconsin at home on a Hail Mary. The game was a wonderful game but a dog fight with a Wisconsin team that refused to go away. They were literally 6 inches away from going to overtime. Kirk Cousins played very well last week, going for 290 on 22 completions and no interceptions. I look for that to continue against a very suspect Nebraska secondary. Le’von Bell carried the load last week, but I don’t look for that to be a continuing trend. Edwin Baker is the star back of this team and look for him to have a big game against Nebraska as well. The 167 yards in the Michigan is what you should see from him. Wisconsin had his number. As you can see I don’t have a lot of faith in the black shirts. Nebraska is ranked 70th in the country in stopping the run, 27th in the pass, and 42nd overall in total defense. I don’t think that Michigan State coming to town on a high is going to help the stats of Nebraska’s defense. One thing that will have to give will either be Michigan State’s rushing defense or the Nebraska rushing attack. Sparty is ranked 8th in the country against the run. Nebraska is 7th in rushing offense. Martinez goes from zero to full speed faster than any other QB in the country. Remember though; Denard Robinson was shut down against this same defense. I don’t think that an over-rated Nebraska team, even in Lincoln, can beat this hot Michigan State team. Sparty wins this game 35-13. Their defense is actually pretty good.

2. #9 Oklahoma is coming off of a TOUGH, TOUGH loss last week in Gaylord Memorial against Texas Tech. Majority of the country, including myself, chose Oklahoma to take on the winner of the Alabama vs. LSU game in the BCS championship game; a few of my followers on twitter even thought that LSU vs. Oklahoma game would be better than the Alabama LSU game. Well that was all shot to hell last week; and things get no easier for Oklahoma as the travel to Manhattan, KS to take on #8 Kansas State. Kansas State doesn’t do anything great, but does everything good. They have the identity of long time coach and AARP member Bill Snyder. He is an excellent coach that can put together a game plan to beat the best of competition. He believes in defense and running the football. As a Texas fan, I understand how tough of an environment Manhattan can be for an opposing team. Jones, Stills, and Broyles are a combination like the Kansas St. defense has not seen all season. This team can light it up at any given moment. Last week they got a slow start against Texas Tech and the opposing offense was moving the ball at will. Kansas St. is ranked 87th against the pass. Don’t look for those numbers to get any better for this pass defense! I don’t think that Klein, Hubert, and Harper are going to generate enough offense to stay stride for stride with Oklahoma. You have to take into account that Kansas State did defeat the same Texas Tech team that beat Oklahoma. So this will be an interesting development. But I am going to call the upset special; I have Kansas State winning this game 38-35 in Manhattan.

3. #5 Clemson travels to take on Georgia Tech. Most of Clemson’s big games have been home games this season. Dabo Swinney has his guys making plays week in and week out and looks like a genius hiring his offensive coordinator, Chad Morris. Sammy Watkins is by far freshman of the Year in his conference as well as the country. He should be up for the Heisman, because he makes plays week in and week out. Another name that is starting to get steam in the Heisman race is Tajh Boyd. The QB has been great this season. His stats speak volumes for the season that he is having; completing 61.9% of his passes, 24 TDs to only 3 interceptions. He has done this against some pretty good defenses, so you can’t discredit is performances on Saturdays. If he keeps it up, he is a LEGIT Heisman candidate. TE Dwayne Allen is running away with the Mackey Award, the award for the best tight end in the country. The rest of the competition doesn’t compare. Ellington has been running the ball very well this season and is 2 good games away from 1000 yards. Clemson has playmakers all over the field. The tigers have a chance to make it unscathed to the South Carolina game. If they can win that game, we will have debates later in the season. Georgia Tech is coming off back to back loses to Virginia and Miami. Georgia Tech is not built to play from behind. If they get behind against this quick hitting Clemson team, it will be a long day again for this offense. Clemson is vulnerable against the run. Michael Dyer carved them up, so if this option attack can stay on the field and keep Boyd, Watkins, and Allen on the sidelines, Georgia Tech can pull the upset. But I have Clemson in this game. 42-24.

These are the three games of note this weekend. Follow us on Twitter @4thandInchesMag for interesting discussions throughout the day! Stay tuned for the recap of these games in the Goal Line Stand.