Week 12 College Football Preview

We are winding nearer to the end of the season and the contenders are starting to separate as the conference title games could decide a lot.

Recap of last week: Ohio and Buffalo gave us a close one down to the end with Ohio prevailing. Central Michigan looked very good with a QB performance possibly of the year from Dan LeFevour. Bowling Green was victorious over Miami (OH) in a blowout and Northern Illinois was able to edge out Ball State. On Thursday, Rutgers once again had South Florida’s number as they blanked the Bulls and dropped the #24 team at Rutgers Stadium 31-0. Temple continued their surprising season with a beat down of Akron. East Carolina looked impressive on Sunday night with a win over Tulsa and has a chance to win the CUSA this year. Texas had little trouble with Baylor and stayed on course for a shot at playing in the national title game. Georgia Tech also did not struggle too much with an upset-minded Duke team. They seem to be positioned to play in a BCS game. Houston settled a setback with UCF knocking them off. Mississippi looked like a top team many thought they would be this year as they ran through Lane Kiffin’s Volunteer team. It definitely was not one of Tennessee’s better defensive games of the year. Boise State and Alabama had little trouble with Idaho and Mississippi State, respectively. While Steve Spurrier and South Carolina gave Florida some trouble before the Gators pull away in the end. In a Big 12 showdown, Oklahoma State was able to get the best of Texas Tech in a back and forth battle. In Pac-10 action, Oregon continued their surge as they had little trouble with Arizona State.

In terms of my top 5 matchups picks, I went 4-1 this past week and after eleven weeks I'm 40-15 on the year. Pittsburgh continued their collision course of sorts with Cincinnati with a good win over a slumping Notre Dame team. HB Dione Lewis had a field day against the Irish defense and a late surge in the fourth quarter fell short for Charlie Weis’s team. They definitely have to look in the mirror and see if they want to end on a good note. In what was expected to be a pretty good Pac-10 matchup turned out to be a rout with the unexpected team pulling it off. Stanford went into the Coliseum and embarrassed the Trojans. This is probably the worse loss in Pete Carroll’s USC tenure. It is usually USC routing PAC-10 squads and not the other way around. HB Toby Gerhart looked impressive in a big game and has officially launched onto the national scene. The game will be key for USC as they look to rebound while Stanford has given themselves a great chance to win the PAC-10 if they can keep the momentum going.

Thursday and Friday night of last week allowed the Big East to highlight some of their better teams. On Friday, Cincinnati and West Virginia were locked in a big time battle with Big East conference rights on the line. The winner would take a step towards possibly claiming the title and a BCS birth. Cincinnati was playing for even more as they were and still are undefeated. West Virginia gave the Bearcats a couple of good punches, but QB Tony Pike and the team pulled ahead and made the plays they needed to down the stretch. Despite having an inexperienced rookie at QB, Iowa gave Ohio State everything they had and then some. The two battle back and forth all day knowing the winner would be smelling the roses and heading to Pasadena for the Rose Bowl. Iowa was also looking to rebound from their first loss, but it was not meant to be as QB Tyrelle Pryor and the Buckeyes were too much and took at the end by a field goal. Utah went to TCU in what to me was possibly the bigger game of the weekend (as opposed to Iowa at Ohio State for the Rose Bowl and Big Ten title). Utah and TCU have been two of the few teams that have been able to break through in recent years and hang around the conversation with “the big boys of college football.” TCU is still undefeated and has national title hopes; despite the slim chances they might be at the moment. TCU, thus, definitely knew what they had to do and against a very good Utah team; they embarrassed the Utes. TCU’s defense was all over the place and made a very good team look very average. TCU has certainly opened a few more eyes with this win. Time will tell how the rest of TCU’s season plays out, but they certainly look like a dangerous team and if a few of “big boys” stumble and they don’t; it only would make sense to give them a shot at the title.

Now turning to this week's slate of games that might be worth watching/feature a team or teams with something on the line:

Wednesday Night:
Buffalo at Miami (OH): Not much to get excited with in the matchup, but shouldn’t be a blowout.

Central Michigan at Ball State: Central Michigan has looked very good thus far and seems to be the best team in the MAC with one of the best QBs, possibly in the country. Could get ugly.

Thursday Night:
Colorado at No. 12 Oklahoma State: This might not look like a close matchup, but Colorado will give Oklahoma State everything they got. Oklahoma State could be on upset alert this week.

Friday Night:
Akron at Bowling Green: Bowling Green has shown signs of being a pretty good team. Don’t expect any fireworks in this one.

Eastern Michigan at Toledo: A lackluster matchup between two bad teams.

No. 6 Boise State at Utah State: Boise State knows they need to win every game and should play hard this week with the end of the season getting closer.

Saturday
Chattanooga at No. 2 Alabama: Alabama gets an easy break this week and could use this one to tune up for the rough two weeks to end the year.

Florida International at No. 1 Florida: Florida gets a break after a bit of a tough stretch. They should be able to keep on their collision course with Alabama and for their sake, clean up some of their offensive miscues.

No. 4 TCU at Wyoming: This one could be over at halftime. TCU will not let this one slip away. It won’t be close.

Virginia at No. 23 Clemson: Clemson is on the brink of playing for an ACC title. HB C.J. Spiller has been an all purpose threat and could provide the difference against a not so good Virginia team.

San Diego State at No. 21 Utah: Utah is basically out of the BCS conversation, but will look to prove that they are better than they played a week ago.

Kansas at No. 3 Texas: Kansas came out of the gate strong, but has begun to struggle in recent weeks. Texas knows that every game and every second matters this year and won’t slip up this week. Kansas does not have enough weapons and the off the field stuff is looming. Texas would be wise to work on their running game as crucial games lie ahead.

Now my top 5 matchups for Week 12:
5) North Carolina at Boston College: Boston College has a shot to still play for an ACC title, but needs a big win against the Tar Heels. North Carolina has looked very expressive at times this year, but has also had a few off games. Both are fairly matched and it could become a game of whomever has the ball last will win the game. Expect a good amount of points and one decided in the fourth quarter. Pick: North Carolina

4) Kansas State at Nebraska: Not exactly a big Big 12 matchup, but there is a lot at stake in this one. The winner gets a shot to play in the Big 12 title game. Nebraska is looking to show that they are a premiere team while Kansas State has improved since last year. Expect Nebraska’s defense especially the defensive line to be the difference in this one. Pick: Nebraska

3) No. 11 Oregon at Arizona: In a weekend featuring key conference battles, this one might be one of the biggest. Oregon had a rough start, but has rebounded very nicely and has themselves possibly playing in the Rose Bowl. The same could be said of Arizona; a team that has improved a little each year under head coach, Mike Stoops. This has the potential to be a close one or a blowout if Oregon gets rolling. I doubt that will happen as Arizona has played tough all year, but I don’t know if they have enough on offense. Pick: Oregon

2) No. 25 California at No. 17 Stanford: Both teams are alive in a wide open Pac-10 race this year as USC has struggled. Stanford was impressive a week ago while California has looked good at times, but has had off weeks as well. HB Jevad Best from California has been banged up and has hurt their offense. HB Toby Gerhart has slowly come on and when the game is on the line; he could be the difference. Could be a close one down to the wire. Pick: Stanford

1) No. 10 Ohio State at Michigan: This one will probably not be a classic in the long rivalry, but for both teams; this one still matters. Beating the other truly makes the other’s year. Ohio State is Rose Bowl bound and Michigan looks to be sitting at home for the second straight bowl season. These are two programs in two different positions. But with rivalry games you never know what might happen. This one is pretty predictable. Pick: Ohio State