Thursday, September 25, 2014

College Football Week Five Picks

D.J. Foster
11 UCLA Bruins vs. 15 Arizona State Sun Devils
The Pac-12 South race will take an interesting turn as two undefeated teams square off at Sun Devil Stadium. The 11th ranked Bruins will hope to get a huge resume booster after relatively average performances against Memphis, Virginia and Texas. Earlier today, we learned their star quarterback Brett Hundley will indeed play tonight, as many believed he would. While Hundley has done a great job this season, his offensive line has not helped him one bit. Despite a lot of experience, nearly everybody who has played UCLA has been able to capitalize on their O-Line's inconsistent play. Will the Sun Devils though? This ASU defense is one that lost All-American defensive tackle Will Sutton and a lot else from a unit that was decent a year ago. With those questions on defense, the Sun Devils will clearly rely on their offensive firepower, like they have done since Todd Graham took over as head coach. Unfortunately, the offense will miss senior Taylor Kelly, an experienced game-changer who has led the Sun Devils to some big wins in the past. That means that Mike Bercovici, who Kelly beat out for the quarterback job entering the 2012 season, will make his first start. He will have to rely on his plethora of weapons surrounding him offensively, including electric wide receiver Jaelen Strong and motivated running back D.J. Foster. Foster is putting up insane numbers early in the season, having rushed for 510 yards in three games and also averaging 9.4 yards per rush. But, he has yet to see a Pac-12 that is at the level UCLA's is, and it will be interesting to see how he does against it. The UCLA defense has been inconsistent as well this season; it must perform tonight. It was a major reason why the team escaped with wins over Virginia and Texas, but it also looked terrible against Memphis. Can Erik Kendricks, Myles Jack and the rest of the talented Bruins' front seven shut down Foster and the Sun Devils? Even at home, with the inexperienced Bercovici at QB, ASU will have their hands full moving the ball, if the Bruins' talented D plays to it's high potential. If Hundley stays healthy and takes over, UCLA shouldn't have too many issues.
UCLA, 37 Arizona State, 27

6 Texas A&M vs. Arkansas
Texas A&M and their new sensation, Kenny Hill, will hope to prove themselves in their first significant test since routing South Carolina on the road. Hill (1,359 yards, 13 touchdowns) will lead a potent Aggies' offense, one that will give Arkansas some real problems. Not just can the Aggies and Hill gun the ball to their abundance of offensive weapons, they have a running game to back it up, along with perhaps the SEC's top offensive line. Defensive end Trey Flowers is by far and away the Razorbacks' top defender and he has to show up in a big way to have success against that Texas A&M offensive line. The bigger question for the Razorbacks' defense will be covering the Aggies' receivers, players who will stretch a defense thin. Malcome Kennedy, Josh Reynolds and rapidly improving Edward Pope are just of the playmakers that could give Arkansas fits. As usual, Texas A&M will most likely light up the scoreboard. The question, as it usually is in College Station is, can they stop opponents from doing the same? With hard-nosed runners Alex Collins and Jonathan Williams are an absolute load to stop. While Collins is a little bit quicker and more deceptive, Williams is more powerful and a blunt force. The Aggies' defense has certainly looked improved this season, but can they stop this dangerous of a rushing attack? They will need to force Arkansas and QB Brandon Allen to throw, something they aren't very comfortable doing. Texas A&M true freshman end Myles Garrett has been an absolute beast this year and the Aggies will likely be relying on him to pressure Allen and make him uncomfortable. After going 3-9 in Bielema's first season in town, the Razorbacks appear to be vastly improved and no game in the SEC West is a cakewalk. Expect this one to be very competitive, but the Aggies should be able to come out pretty comfortably.
Texas A&M, 44 Arkansas, 28

22 Ohio State vs. Cincinnati
Former Notre Dame quarterback Gunner Kiel has been waiting a long time for his time to shine, and this battle on Saturday night could be his coming out party in a Cincinnati uniform. The former five-star recruit has put up huge numbers in his first two games with the Bearcats, adding up to throw for 689 yards and 10 touchdowns. He will hope to put similar numbers against an Ohio State defense that has been wildly inconsistent. Without end Noah Spence, the team hasn't been able to have the dominant pass rush they expected, and the secondary has had some real issues. With his arm, and two major deep threats in Shaq Washington and Mekale McKay, expect Kiel to expose the OSU secondary early and often. Offensively, the Buckeyes have also been wildly inconsistent. J.T. Barrett recovered from a terrible outing against Virginia Tech with a huge day against Kent State. He has shown Braxton Miller and Terrelle Pryor-like genes but he is still very prone to mistakes and just plain bad decisions. He will lean on backs Curtis Samuel and Ezekiel Elliott to take some pressure off and Michael Thomas, Dontre Wilson and Devin Smith to make plays through the air against a not elite, but solid Cincy defense. This is an awfully big test for Ohio State, Cincinnati is far from a pushover, they have legit talent. If the Buckeyes can limit turnovers and hold onto the football and pressure Kiel they should be able to pull out a victory. But, Kiel has a chance for a huge night and this has all the makings of a trap game for the Buckeyes.
Cincinnati, 31 Ohio State, 28

Other Picks
7 Baylor, 42 Iowa State, 17
13 South Carolina, 34 Missouri, 30
1 Florida State, 35 NC State, 13
9 Michigan State, 38 Wyoming, 16
12 Georgia, 27 Tennessee, 20
Current Picks Record: 23-9

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