Here are the Crystal Ball Run Week 8 staff picks. Included is one writer who has an undefeated, top ranked team going down.
Let’s get to the picks!
No. 15 West Virginia at Syracuse: Friday, 8:00 p.m. ESPN
Tom Perry’s Take: Both teams are coming off bye weeks, so each team should have a few wrinkles added to the game plan for this Friday night Big East tussle. Syracuse has battled all season, but the Orange have not faced an offense as dynamic as West Virginia’s. Geno Smith wants some redemption for last year’s poor performance against Syracuse in Morgantown, so he is likely to take out his frustrations on the Orange.
West Virginia 41, Syracuse 12
Everyone Else’s Take:
Aaron Torres: West Virginia 38, Syracuse 13
Allen Kenney: West Virginia 30, Syracuse 21
Kevin McGuire: West Virginia 27, Syracuse 23
Michael Felder: West Virginia 31 Syracuse 17
Regie Eller: West Virginia 42, Syracuse 20
North Carolina at No. 7 Clemson: Saturday, 12:00 p.m. ESPN/ESPN3
Regie Eller’s Take: A week removed from surviving against the Maryland Terrapins offensive explosion, the Clemson Tigers will try and avoid a let down back at home versus the North Carolina Tar Heels.
The Heels provide the type of team that could really cause Clemson problems. North Carolina is balanced, can stretch the field and have the capabilities to eat the clock – all of which they will need to pull off the upset.
Defensively – North Carolina is as talented a team Clemson will face. The Heels front seven are second to none in the ACC, but beyond that there are worries.
Clemson and their fast-paced, quick-strike offense has taken the college football world by storm. Ranked 15th in the country in total offense – averaging 487 yards per contest (193 rushing – 293 passing) this will be a tall task for the Heels to master.
I expect North Carolina, lead by running back Giovani Bernard and Bryn Renner, to stay with Clemson offensively. But can they for all four quarters? If North Carolina can stay on the ground, attack Clemson vertically, while eating the majority of the clock then UNC has the pieces to upset Clemson. At this point, however, I see too many weapons for Clemson – playing at home – for them to pull a Clemson.
Clemson 38, North Carolina 31
Everybody Else’s Take:
Aaron Torres: Clemson 35, North Carolina 28
Allen Kenney: Clemson 29, North Carolina 20
Kevin McGuire: Clemson 32, North Carolina 20
Michael Felder: Clemson 44 North Carolina 27
Tom Perry: Clemson 29, North Carolina 14
No. 9 Arkansas at Ole Miss: Saturday, 12:21 p.m. SEC Network
Aaron Torres’ Take: As a general rule, I’m a pretty optimistic guy. But even I can’t find any good in a bad situation at Ole Miss. The talent is bad, the coaching is worse, and the players have quit on Houston Nutt. Add to it that Bobby Petrino gets a sick thrill out of lighting up the scoreboard.
The only positive for Ole Miss? The more one-sided losses that they suffer, the sooner Nutt will be out the door.
Arkansas 41, Ole Miss 13
Everybody Else’s Take:
Allen Kenney: Arkansas 41, Ole Miss 20
Kevin McGuire: Arkansas 30, Ole Miss 12
Michael Felder: Arkansas 45, Ole Miss 20
Regie Eller: Arkansas 56, Ole Miss 24
Tom Perry: Arkansas 49, Ole Miss 12
No. 22 Georgia Tech at Miami: Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ESPN
Michael Felder’s Take: The Canes are coming off a win against North Carolina where they jumped out to a 27-3 lead early and then sort of coasted against the Heels. That early start will be crucial for the Canes against a Georgia Tech team that is looking to get back on the winning track after losing to the Wahoos in Charlottesville. It appears Tevin Washington has regressed as a passer and against this Miami secondary if his passes are errant as they have been in past weeks the Canes can turnover the Yellow Jackets.
Coming into this game with only a standard week to prepare Al Golden’s team is not afforded the extra gameplanning that Virginia got but this is a Miami team with capable talent. If Miami can get up early and force Tech to play from behind expect a big day for the Canes.
Miami 31 Georgia Tech 24
Everybody Else’s Take:
Aaron Torres: Georgia Tech 35, Miami 28
Allen Kenney: Georgia Tech 30, Miami 27
Kevin McGuire: Georgia Tech 20, Miami 17
Regie Eller: Georgia Tech 35, Miami 31
Tom Perry: Georgia Tech 34, Miami 30
No. 20 Auburn Tigers at No. 1 LSU Tigers: Saturday, 3:30 p.m. CBS
Allen Kenney’s Take: The Honey Badger and leading rusher Spencer Ware got weeded out of LSU’s lineup this week, leaving Les Miles’ team drifting a little left of center.
So instead of beating Auburn by three touchdowns, the Bayou Bengals only win by two. Even without Tyrann Mathieu all up in his grill, Auburn quarterback Clint Moseley gets flustered by the ferocious LSU defense all afternoon. Auburn struggles to put together drives, entering the red zone just once all game. Meanwhile, LSU pounds on Auburn’s bend-and-then-break D the for three quarters before coasting through the fourth.
LSU 20, Auburn 6
Everybody Else’s Take:
Aaron Torres: LSU 24, Auburn 14
Kevin McGuire: LSU 41, Auburn 20
Michael Felder: LSU 42 Auburn 13
Regie Eller: LSU 41, Auburn 13
Tom Perry: LSU 21, Auburn 3
Maryland at Florida State: Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ESPN/ABC
Regie Eller’s Take: Maryland at Florida State is a battle of two severely battered football teams and both are coming into the game with different outlooks.
Florida State will be looking to continue the offensive production they had versus the Duke Blue Devils, while Maryland comes in with absolutely nothing to lose off their own offensive explosion versus the #7 team in the country – the Clemson Tigers.
Maryland quarterback, C.J Brown, had a field day versus the Clemson defense, a week ago, setting a Maryland rushing record for a quarterback along the way. Going back to last season, Florida State has had major problems in dealing with a quarterback with wheels. The difference in this game – is that I am far less impressed with Brown’s ability to throw the ball versus like-quarterbacks Russell Wilson and Tyrod Taylor from a season ago.
Maryland ran a very simple, straight forward zone-read last week versus Clemson and it worked brilliantly before running out of gas. Will Mark Stoops use what was seen in film to FSU’s advantage? You have to think so.
Florida State, with E.J Manuel back gives the Seminoles a completely different offense. If E.J Manuel is running the ball – he is back and healthy. He ran it well versus Duke, and I see this as a major concern for the Terps. Maryland is 108th in the country in rush defense, so look for Jimbo to keep the success there with true freshman Devonta Freeman and E.J Manuel carrying the rock the majority of the time.
Maryland may hang around Tallahassee for awhile, but in the end Florida State pulls away.
Florida State 48, Maryland 24
Everybody Else’s Take:
Aaron Torres: Florida State 35, Maryland 24
Allen Kenney: Florida State 42, Maryland 14
Kevin McGuire: Florida State 24, Maryland 10
Michael Felder: Florida State 24 Maryland 20
Tom Perry: Florida State 42, Maryland 28
No. 21 Penn State at Northwestern: Saturday, 7:00 p.m. Big Ten Network
Kevin McGuire’s Take: Penn State’s vaunted defense will be put to the test against one of the Big Ten’s top quarterbacks, Northwestern’s Dan Persa. The Wildcats are on a four-game losing streak but have scored 30+ points in two of the last three weeks and at least 24 points in each of the last three, so we know that they have the potential to up up some points. Look for Persa to make some plays and be able to keep some drives alive against a Penn State defense that was not necessarily pleased with their performance the week before in a win against Purdue. Penn State’s quarterback situation is quite the opposite of Northwestern, with Matt McGloin and Rob Bolden combining to complete fewer than half of their passes this season. That should mean plenty of handoffs to Silas Redd in this one.
Penn State 24, Northwestern 23
Everybody Else’s Take:
Aaron Torres: Penn State 20, Northwestern 10
Allen Kenney: Northwestern 24, Penn State 23
Michael Felder: Penn State 17, Northwestern 14
Regie Eller: Northwestern 24, Penn State 21
Tom Perry: Northwestern 6, Penn State 3
Tennessee at No. 2 Alabama: Saturday, 7:15 p.m. ESPN2
Kevin McGuire’s Take: A week after being dismantled by top-ranked LSU, Tennessee gets to hit the road to take on Alabama. Is there a tougher back-to-back game situation in the country? Tennessee will need to do plenty in order to pick up their first SEC win of the season and upset the Crimson Tide, and quite frankly I don’t know if I see it happening. The Vols struggle to run the football (115th in the nation) and they just don’t have the kind of firepower needed to keep up with an Alabama offense that is putting up nearly 40 points on a weekly basis. Oh, and the Tide are allowing just seven points per game and outscoring their SEC opponents by a combined 162-31.
Expect more of that scoring trend this weekend.
Alabama 38, Tennessee 10
Everybody Else’s Take:
Aaron Torres: Alabama 31, Tennessee 3
Allen Kenney: Alabama 24, Tennessee 0
Michael Felder: Alabama 48 Tennessee 21
Regie Eller: Alabama 38, Tennessee 12
Tom Perry: Alabama 45, Tennessee 10
USC at Notre Dame, Saturday, 7:30 p.m. NBC
Tom Perry’s Take: Remember when this game used to matter nationally? Now it’s sort of a cute game between the coach who yells a lot and the coach who can’t spell. Something tells me the guy who yells more is a better coach and Notre Dame will be ready to make it two-in-a-row against USC. The X-factor in this game, though, is the Matt Barkley to Robert Woods connection. If those two start lighting it up this game could be very interesting.
Notre Dame 28, USC 25
Everybody Else’s Take:
Aaron Torres: Notre Dame 31, USC 14
Allen Kenney: Notre Dame 35, USC 18
Kevin McGuire: USC 31, Notre Dame 27
Michael Felder: Notre Dame 37 USC 30
Regie Eller: Notre Dame 24, USC 21
Texas Tech Red Raiders at No. 3 Oklahoma Sooners: Saturday, 8 p.m. ABC/ESPN
Allen Kenney’s Take: Texas Tech and its explosive offense come to Norman Saturday night to face off against a banged-up OU defense. The Red Raiders find some success early, taking advantage of miscues in the Sooners’ back seven to generate cheap points.
In the end, OU quarterback Landry Jones and his sick assortment of offensive prove too much for Tech, though. The Sooners push the tempo more so than usual for this season, challenging the Red Raiders to keep up. Eventually – call it late in the third quarter – OU sprints away.
Oklahoma 44, Texas Tech 20
Everybody Else’s Take:
Aaron Torres: Oklahoma 48, Texas Tech 10
Kevin McGuire: Oklahoma 40, Texas Tech 17
Michael Felder: Oklahoma 37 Texas Tech 20
Regie Eller: Oklahoma 51, Texas Tech 38
Tom Perry: Oklahoma 35, Texas Tech 20
No. 25 Washington at No. 7 Stanford: Saturday, 8:00 p.m. ABC/ESPN
Aaron Torres’ Take: Well, well, well, look who decided to play some actual competition this week?
Ok, so you can’t totally blame Stanford for their “light” early season schedule, since the Pac-12 set them up with conference cupcakes Arizona, Colorado, UCLA and Washington State to open the year. At the same time, what do we know about this team? Well, other than that their quarterback is really good, and their ex-coach is both certifiably insane and also the single coolest man on the planet (I miss you coach Harbaugh!).
Point being, the Cardinal have a lot to prove Saturday night.
They’ll get the win, but I suspect it’ll be closer than most any one expects.
Stanford 35, Washington 31
Everybody Else’s Take:
Allen Kenney: Stanford 38, Washington 31
Kevin McGuire: Stanford 31, Washington 23
Michael Felder: Stanford 34 Washington 27
Regie Eller: Stanford 35, Washington 24
Tom Perry: Stanford 31, Washington 27
No. 5 Wisconsin at No. 15 Michigan State: Saturday, 8:00 p.m. ABC
Michael Felder’s Take: Michigan State, like Nebraska a few weeks ago, has become “the” game for Wisconsin and folks who doubt the Badgers are a truly elite football team. The Spartans defense is damn good, even without suspended defensive end Will Gholston. The D brings a bully’s mentality into the game and they want to punch teams in the mouth, like they did a week ago against a dynamic Michigan attack.
This year Wisconsin has a little something to go along with their power rushing attack, quarterback Russell Wilson. He should be the difference in this game as the Spartans cannot just pin their ears back on third and long to get after the quarterback. All Russell Wilson Everything will extend drives and with Nick Toon scheduled to play Saturday look for the Badgers to get some opportunities over the top.
Wisconsin 27 Michigan State 20
Everybody Else’s Take:
Aaron Torres: Wisconsin 35, Michigan State 24
Allen Kenney: Wisconsin 26, Michigan State 23
Kevin McGuire: Michigan State 21, Wisconsin 20 <- Upset Alert!
Regie Eller: Wisconsin 34, Michigan State 24
Tom Perry: Michigan State 21, Wisconsin 17
For up to the minute news, as well as college football insight that can’t be found anywhere else on the web, follow Crystal Ball Run on Twitter @CrystalBallRun.
