This weekend of college football will be very nerve racking for me as my college favorite Oklahoma Sooners take on the Missouri Tigers. This could very well be the match up of the week. Sophomore Quarterback Landry Jones has done a terrific job of taking over for Sam Bradford who has already had a fair amount of success in the NFL with the St. Louis Rams. Jones, Murray, Broyles and the rest of the Sooner offense will have their work cut out against a pretty decent Tiger defense. Missouri comes in to the game led by Junior Quarterback Blaine Gabbert who may have to have an above par game to take out a Bob Stoops coached defense.
There will be plenty more action this week. The football season for NCAA Football has been pretty wacky. In two straight weeks, the #1 ranked teams have been taken out. Lets see if the now #1 ranked Sooners can hold the spot for more than a week.
After the break we'll highlight some of the bigger match ups of today...
EARLY GAME 12:00pm EST
#7 Michigan State vs. Northwestern
Michigan State has fought very hard to reach the #7 overall spot in the rankings. Quarterback Kirk Cousins has really proven to be a threat in the Big 10 and has had a plethra of receivers to throw to throughout the year. The three-headed ground attack from Baker, Bell, and Caper should be a handful for Northwesterns defense to handle. However, there has been no shortage of upsets this year and this could be one to watch out for. Northwestern has some playmakers on the defensive side. The offense has their fair share of weapons as well with the main ones being quarterback Dan Persa who has thrown 12 touchdowns on the year and rushed for three, and wide reciever Jeremy Ebert who has been on the other end of most of those passes. This will at the least be an interesting game to watch prospect wise.
AFTERNOON GAMES 3:30pm EST
#6 LSU vs. #4 Auburn
This, minus the OU game, could be the most exciting game of the week. Both teams come in running on high octane. These two teams have plenty of pro-prospect talent and there may be several match ups to intrigue the common fan. Perhaps the biggest match up to watch will be LSU's Patrick Peterson trying to contain the explosive Darvin Adams. Each team has interesting situations at quarterback with Jordan Jefferson and Jarrett Lee sharing snaps and Auburn has stuck with just one in the blossoming young talent Cam Newton. Newton in a lot of ways has the same potential that Jamarcus Russell had entering the NFL. Work ethic may be what seperates the two but time will tell on that. Stevan Ridley should see a bulk of the carries for LSU at running back while Auburn may ride, and count on Newton for the majority of the rushing yards. This Tiger vs. Tiger rivalry will come down to who wants it more. It could be a down to the wire type of game...stay tuned.
#13 Wisonsin vs. #15 Iowa
Wisonsin is coming off a gigantic win against the formerly ranked #1 Ohio State Buckeyes. However, they will need to stay focused and not let that get to their heads because Iowa is a very dangerous team on both sides of the ball. There will be several players playing in this game that we will get to see playing on Sundays before long. Both teams are very evenly matched at nearly every single position. Both quarterbacks in this game have quite a bit of potential but overall Stanzi should have the upperhand on Tolzien. The Badgers will try and grind it out with running back John Clay and carry over the momentum from last week. If I was a betting man, I'd hate to put my money on either one of these teams. There shouldn't be a shortage of blows exchanged in this one unless one team or the other just decides not to show up.
#16 Nebraska vs. #14 Oklahoma State
A Big 12 showdown in Stillwater, Oklahoma between these two high-octained offenses could have plenty of fireworks. There hasn't been a defense yet that has figured out how to contain Huskers quarterback Taylor Martinez; this kid has got it all and then some. Besides Denard Robinson, Martinez could be the single most electrifying player in college football right now. Oklahoma State is not lacking in that department as well. Running back Kendall Hunter, and quarterback Brandon Weeden always have a tricks up their sleeves. Hunter is elusive, snakey, and hard to bring down while Weeden's ariel asault is one of the most fierce and feared in college football. His favorite target Justin Blackmon will be covered tightly by Nebraska's premier corner Prince Amukamara which should make for a great one-on-one.
EVENING GAME 8:00pm EST
#1 Oklahoma vs. #11 Missouri
As covered above, this will be the last intriguing game of the day. The Sooners are looking for another National Championship but have a few more tests along the way. This will be a great test for the Sooners and should tell us if they are for real or not. Both teams are undefeated and someone will be going home with loss numero uno. The game will be played in Missouri and OU will need to stifle the crowd early on in order to keep the focus. Missouri may not have enough playmakers on defense to keep up with the Sooner offense but they have just as many weapons on offense to try and keep pace. We could be in for a shootout and I expect this one to be a high scoring game with plenty of action. The Sooner defense led by linebacker Jeremy Beal will have to keep close track of running back Henry Josey and wide receiver T.J. Moe if they want to blow the Tigers out and prove to the nation that they belong at #1.
Here is the remainder of the schedule for today:
ENJOY THE GAMES!!!