Last week was bitter sweet as I went 4-0 straight up but just 1-3 against the spread. Keep in mind that I try to only pick top 25 games, so they’re much, much harder to predict. Like, much harder. (Or at least that’s my excuse anyway.)

No. 8 LSU at Mississippi, 3:30PM ET
Both of these SEC teams will be looking to finish the 2009 season strong when they square off this Saturday in Oxford. The Rebels snapped a six-game losing streak to the Tigers last season but they haven’t won at home in his series since 1998. The public seems high on Ole Miss after the Rebs hammered Tennessee last Saturday, but keep in mind that the Vols were in the midst of some turmoil after three of their players were arrested for attempted armed robbery last week. Dexter McCluster went off on Tennessee for 282 yards and four touchdowns, but he’ll have a hard time repeating that effort against a stout LSU front seven. Something tells me that Les Miles’ team is still pissed off about what happened two weeks again in Tuscaloosa and will play this week with passion. I see a small upset for the Tigers and an outright win.
Odds: Ole Miss –4.5.
Prediction: LSU 20, Ole Miss 17.

No. 25 California at No. 17 Stanford, 7:30PM ET
Stanford is playing as well as anyone in the nation right now. The Cardinal have scored 106 points combined against Oregon and USC the past two weeks and senior running back Toby Gerhart has almost been unstoppable. Without running back Jahvid Best, Cal squeaked by Arizona last week, 24-16. With Best sidelined again this Saturday, many expect Stanford to roll but don’t forget that Cal has the 19th best run defense in the nation and is capable of containing Gerhart and keeping things close. Quarterback Kevin Riley might be able to take advantage of a Stanford secondary that has been inconsistent this season, although without the threat of a running game the Bears’ offense might become too one-dimensional in the second half. I think Stanford will pull out the victory but this game will be closer than people think.
Odds: Stanford –7.5.
Prediction: Stanford 35, Cal 31.

No. 10 Ohio State at Michigan, 12:00PM ET
Michigan has the offense to contend with most teams in the Big Ten, but the Wolverine defense has been horrid this year while giving up over 400 yards a game. Michigan has been fine against the pass, but that’s only because opponents have been able to run the ball with success and don’t need to put it in the air. Unfortunately for them, Ohio State’s strength is its ground attack, which means Brandon Saine should find plenty of running room against a soft Wolverine front seven. Given how this game is in Ann Arbor and is the final regular season outing for both teams, Michigan may keep things close in the first half. But after a while, mistakes will start to add up and Ohio State should cruise after halftime.
Odds: Ohio State –12.
Prediction: Ohio State 34, Michigan 20.

No. 4 TCU at Wyoming, 2:00PM ET
This will likely wind up being a free win for my straight up plays, but I’m really adding this game for my ATS plays. TCU is coming off an emotional win over Utah last week at home and now has to go on the road to face an improved Wyoming team. The last time these two teams faced off in Laramie, the Cowboys beat the Frogs 24-21 in 2007. TCU is a juggernaut and looks unstoppable at this point, but can anyone say letdown?
Odds: TCU –31.
Prediction: TCU 30, Wyoming 21.

Photo from fOTOGLIF
]]> http://www.scoresreport.com/2009/11/18/2009-college-football-week-12-picks-predictions/feed/ 0 http://www.scoresreport.com/2009/09/25/south-carolina-shocks-no-4-ole-miss/ http://www.scoresreport.com/2009/09/25/south-carolina-shocks-no-4-ole-miss/#comments Fri, 25 Sep 2009 12:22:00 +0000 Anthony Stalter http://www.scoresreport.com/?p=25048

College football fans, we officially have another huge upset in 2009.

Just six days after Washington knocked off USC (who was the No. 3 team in the nation), South Carolina shocked No. 4 Ole Miss on Thursday night with a 16-10 upset.

It was an incredible performance by the Gamecock defense, which held quarterback Jevan Snead to only 107 yards on 7 of 21 passing. The highly potent Rebel offense could only muster 248 total yards against a South Carolina defense that was relentless to the ball carrier all night.

Not to solely pick on him because the South Carolina defense was incredible on all fronts, but Snead just couldn’t make a play when Ole Miss needed it, outside of a 45-yard touchdown competition to Markeith Summers in the fourth quarter to cut the Gamecocks’ lead to 16-10.

When Ole Miss marched to SC territory late in the fourth, Snead was sacked on a 3rd and 12 from the Gamecock 34 and then had a pass knocked away on the next play to essentially end the game. Every time he needed to make a play, SC’s defense turned him away. The Gamecocks did an amazing job all night.

Shockingly, this was the sixth consecutive SEC opener that Ole Miss has lost and they join Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and USC as the fourth top-5 team to be knocked off in the last four weeks. What a blow for the Rebels, who many thought would be the sleeper team in the SEC this year.

Check out our other 2009 college football previews.

Preseason Ranking: No. 8 in AP Top 25; No. 10 in USA Today Poll.

Key Returning Players: Jevan Snead (QB); Dexter McCluster (WR); Shay Hodge (WR); Cordera Eason (RB); Daverin Geralds (C); Gerald Harris (TE); Kendrick Lewis (S); Greg Hardy (DE); Jonathan Cornell (LB); Ted Laurent (DT); Kentrell Lockett (DE); Marcus Tillman (DE); Cassius Vaughn (CB); Allen Walker (LB).

Key Losses: Peria Jerry (DT); Michael Oher (OT); Chris Bowers (DE); Mike Wallace (WR); Jason Cook (FB); Jamarca Sanford (S); Terrell Jackson (S); Tony Fein (LB); Ashlee Palmer (LB); Dustin Mouzon (CB); Maurice Miller (G).

Player to Watch: Greg Hardy, DE.
Some were probably expecting quarterback Jevan Snead to be listed here – and for good reason. The athletic signal caller totaled 2,762 passing yards and 26 touchdowns in his first year as the Rebels’ starting QB and many believe that Snead is the reason Ole’ Miss has a chance to surprise this year in the SEC. But Hardy, with his career 32.5 tackles and 21.5 sacks, will unquestionably be the best player that suits up for the Rebels this season. Had he not decided to stay in school, he likely would have been a top 5 pick in April’s NFL draft. He terrorized SEC quarterbacks last season, namely Florida’s Tim Tebow in the Rebels’ massive upset of the Gators in “The Swamp.” Hardy should once again prove why he’s one of the best defenders in the nation and he was born to play on Sundays.

Team Strength: The loss of Peria Jerry hurts, but the Rebels’ defensive front seven should once again cause issues for the opposition’s running game. Last year, Ole’ Miss allowed only 85.5 yards per game on the ground and even without Jerry, the Rebels will be difficult to run on. The line will be aided by the returns Hardy, Kentrell Lockett and Marcus Tillman, and linebacker Jonathan Cornell appears ready to take over a linebacker unit that lost Ashlee Palmer.

Potential Weakness: Despite the success of the front seven, the Rebels’ secondary struggle last year outside of safety Kendrick Lewis. Ole’ Miss gave up the most passing yards in the SEC last year and even though Lewis is an outstanding player, cornerbacks Cassius Vaughn and Marshay Green need to be better.

Outlook: There’s no question that Ole’ Miss could surprise this year in the SEC. Snead is a quality quarterback who is surrounded by a group of capable backs and receivers, most notably Dexter McCluster. The Rebels were second in the SEC in rushing offense and third in total offense in ‘08, but the key will be how this team fares without tackle Michael Oher, who was drafted in April. If the line doesn’t suffer a production letdown, then Ole’ Miss certainly has enough offensive weapons to be dangerous. The defense is solid, although the secondary must perform better for this team to reach its potential. With the way the front seven gets after the quarterback, there should be no excuse for the Rebels to rank dead last in passing defense again. The schedule is also very favorable, with home games against Alabama and LSU. The Rebels also don’t have to face Florida this season.

While a couple of things have to come together for Ole’ Miss to pull off the upset and win the SEC, they proved last year with wins over Florida and Texas Tech that they’re more than capable of being dangerous in a stacked conference.

The USA Today Coaches’ Top 25 college football coaches’ poll has been released and to no surprise, Florida ranks No. 1.

Here’s the top 15 (via ESPN.com):

1. Florida
2. Texas
3. Oklahoma
4. USC
5. Alabama
6. Ohio State
7. Virginia Tech
8. Penn State
9. LSU
10. Mississippi
11. Oklahoma State
12. California
13. Georgia
14. Oregon
15. Georgia Tech

The most intriguing team to watch this year in the top 15 is Ole’ Miss. The have a solid quarterback in Jevan Snead a true playmaker in Dexter McCluster, a couple of quality receivers and several capable rushers. But the one thing that could keep the Rebels from taking that next step is the play of the offensive and defensive lines. They lost two significant pieces of both lines last year when Michael Oher and Peria Jerry were drafted into the NFL. Can they replace both of those players and make some noise in the SEC?

Another team to at least keep an eye on this year is North Carolina, who is ranked 20 in the preseason poll. They lost receivers Hakeem Nicks and Brandon Tate to the NFL, but their offense is still chockfull of potential and their defense was incredibly opportunistic last year. I’m not saying the Heels will challenge for a national title this season, but they’ll be competitive.

The Heisman race is going to be fun to watch all year, too. Sam Bradford, Tim Tebow, Colt McCoy and Terrelle Pryor hold the edge going into the season, but watch out for sleepers like Evan Royster, Jonathan Dwyer and Jahvid Best.

I loved Tech going into this game and backed them as a team that still wasn’t getting enough credit. I even bought into the small hype that they should be the No. 1 team in the nation instead of Alabama. Apparently was wrong, like, way wrong.

This wasn’t just a bad night for the Raiders – the Sooners were just flat out better in every phase of the game. It was easy to see that OU was going to put up some points. Not only is the Sooner offense one of the best in the nation under Heisman hopeful Sam Bradford (14 of 19 for 304 yards, 4 TDs), but the Tech defense is also nonexistent.

But for the Sooner defense to hold Tech to only 21 points is simply amazing. No team in the nation (besides maybe OU) was running its offense better and more efficiently than the Raiders were. And OU made Tech look like they were in their first spring practice of the year.

This obviously throws a massive kink in the BCS rankings, which is fantastic for fans that want a playoff in college football. What team is the best in the nation? Can you honestly say it’s Alabama? Can you honestly say it’s not Oklahoma? What about Texas, who, oh-by-the-way beat Oklahoma earlier this year but lost to Tech on the final play of the game. What about Florida? The Gators lost Ole’ Miss, but are playing their best football of the season right now and have a date with ‘Bama in the SEC Championship Game coming up.

The BCS is getting what it deserves with OU’s win – complete anarchy. Everything is a mess right now and their little computers don’t have a clear-cut answer (not that they ever do). A playoff would be absolutely great for a season like this.

The BCS standings say that UF is the 10th best team in the nation, but nobody should buy that. On neutral ground, the Gators beat half the teams ranked ahead of them (I’ll leave it up to you to determine which of those teams you think they’re better than) in the polls, and in Gainesville they probably defeat most of the teams ranked ahead of them.

This thought process isn’t based solely on what they did to Kentucky on Saturday either. The Wildcats didn’t stand much of a chance going into the game, although their defense has shown improvement this year. No, this is based on the fact that the Gators still own some of the best talent in the country and are one of the few programs that can say they have a complete football team. Their loss to Ole’ Miss was an aberration and obviously the defeat not only has motivated them, but also has re-focused them as well.

It’s hard to fathom Texas and/or Alabama losing this season, but it’s even harder to believe that the BCS Championship won’t feature two one-loss teams with how crazy the season has been this year. That said, there’s no reason to think the Gators can’t run the table with the way they’ve handled LSU and Kentucky the past two weeks. Therefore, Florida’s a program that pundits should start paying attention to again as true title contenders.

While having a successful senior year as a high school football player, Manning was still undecided on which university to attend in the fall. That changed after receiving a call from David Cutcliffe. The Manning family was familiar with him, as Cutcliffe was offensive coordinator at the University of Tennessee, and helped older brother Peyton elevate his overall game. He was named Head Coach of the University of Mississippi football team, and was hoping Eli Manning would become his first prize recruit in rebuilding the Rebel program. Upon hearing Cutcliffe’s recruiting pitch; Manning followed his father’s footstep, and became starting QB at Ole Miss.

Manning’s collegiate career was a lot like his personality: quiet but successful. He set or tied 45 single-game, season, and career records at Ole Miss. In his senior year, Manning won the Maxwell Award as the nation’s best all-around collegiate player, the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, and finished in third-place for the 2003 Heisman Trophy Award behind eventual winner Jason White, quarterback of Oklahoma, and University of Pittsburgh wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald.

All the draft experts projected him to be the first overall pick of the 2004 NFL Draft but there was one hitch – Manning did not want to play football in San Diego, and formally sent a letter to the Chargers requesting them not to choose him in the draft. Despite his request, the Chargers drafted Manning with the first overall selection. Subsequently, he was traded on draft-day to the Giants in return for fourth overall pick quarterback Philip Rivers, a third-round selection (kicker Nate Kaeding) in the 2004 Draft, as well as the Giants’ first (linebacker Shawne Merriman) and fifth-round choices in the 2005 NFL Draft.

Manning sat for the first half of his rookie season, as veteran quarterback Kurt Warner tutored him. Then, Head Coach Tom Coughlin decided to start Manning for the second half of the season, as he wanted him to gain NFL experience. Manning’s lone bright spot in his rookie season was a last-minute touchdown drive to defeat arch-rival Dallas Cowboys, which ended the Giants’ eight-game losing streak.

He started off the 2005 season undefeated, but Manning’s big test would come in Week 3 – a road date with San Diego. Charger fans did not forget the snub from Manning, and they repeatedly booed him throughout the contest. The Chargers won the game, 45-23, but Manning played his most impressive game to that point of his career, going 24 of 41 for 352 yards and two touchdown passes. He went on to lead an offense that ranked third in the NFL in scoring with a total of 442 points (the most points scored by a Giant team since 1963). But passing efficiency was Manning’s lone drawback, as he completed only 53 percent of his passes and his QB efficiency rating suffered as well, with an unimpressive 75.9 rating that ranked 23rd in the league. Manning also seemed to wear down as the season progressed, culminating with a poor post-season performance against the Carolina Panthers.

His second full season as a starting quarterback was reminiscent of his prior campaign, starting off strong but declining in production toward the end of the season. His overall numbers were an improvement, as Manning had a five point improvement in his completion rate, but still ranked 18th in the league in QB efficiency. Many perceived him to be a solid QB, but not in the class of other young quarterbacks from his draft class like Rivers and Ben Roethlisberger of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Determined to rebound in 2007, Manning trained in the off-season to perfect his timing and chemistry with the Giants’ leading receivers, wide receiver Plaxico Burress and tight end Jeremy Shockey. He opened the season with an outstanding performance against the Cowboys, throwing for over 300 yards and two touchdown passes in the game. But once again his production diminished toward the end of the regular season. Giants’ co-owner John Mara challenged him to rebound and lead the team on a successful playoff run, which he did, bouncing back with an exceptional performance in a lost to the Patriots in the final regular season game.

Then came a playoff run to dwarf all other playoff runs in modern sports history. It began with a convincing victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, followed by an upset victory over the heavily-favored Cowboys, and a Super Bowl berth was secured by an improberable overtime victory in Green Bay.

Then in front of a record-setting television audience, Manning directed a late fourth quarter touchdown drive to defeat the Patriots. He became the second QB to throw two go-ahead TD passes in the fourth quarter of a Super Bowl (Joe Montana being the first). The Giants became the first team in league history to win eleven road games in one season. And the Manning’s became the first set of brothers to win successive post-season MVP honors in all of professional sports.

Manning on the Web

New York Giants Player Bio: Eli Manning
Team’s official page; contains short bio, stats, and link to recent video highlights

Eli Manning Wikipedia Page
Wikipedia page; contains short bio, career stats, and external links

Manning’s News and Commentary

Unflappable Manning lets instincts take over
Complete overview of Manning’s Super Bowl performance

Book by News writer looks at Eli Manning & David Tyree’s Super play
Manning gives his view on the 2007 season

Manning Says

Manning reacts to his part of “the Catch” to WR David Tyree:

“Just trying to avoid the sack,” Manning explained. “I felt people grabbing me. You try to get small sometimes and keep the play alive.”

Manning discusses his philosophy on playing in the third pre-season game on the schedule:

“This is the one that is most game-like,” Manning said. “You’re going to play a whole half and you usually come out in the second half and play that first series, where you really try to go out there and be sharp and make sure everybody’s on the same page. You’re making plays. You’re not having the mental mistakes. And you’ve put all that behind you and you’re out there executing the game plan well.”