College Football Week 11 Preview

College Football Week 11 Preview I’m going to try something new here. Usually I try and preview bets/give picks, but I have no money so I’ll just talk about the actual games instead. This week in college football isn’t horrible, but other than a few games it’s really not all that spectacular either. There’s 3 ranked matchups this week, one more than there was last week. Obviously with the biggest game of the year happening in Tuscaloosa, and a matchup of unbeaten teams in the Big Ten, there is some season-changing games that could/will happen tomorrow. #18 Iowa @ #13 Wisconsin This game ultimately is going to decide who challenges Minnesota for the Big Ten West and get stomped by Ohio State in the championship game. The loser is essentially eliminated, and the winner controls their fate IF Minnesota loses to Penn State (or loses any other game) but I’ll talk about that game below. Clearly Wisconsin comes in to this game reeling a little more with back to back losses, but I think the Badgers used the bye to figure some things out (we couldn’t have gotten any worse I don’t think) and will win this game. Jonathan Taylor may bounce back a little bit after poor performances by JT standards over the last two games, and although he very easily could run wild in this game, I wouldn’t expect it against a Hawkeye defense that’s allowing 87 yards per game. What I think we probably figured out over the bye, and why Wisconsin will win this game, is defense/tackling. Against Illinois it looked like the defense was trying to tackle Barry Sanders every other play, and while Ohio State is one of the best offenses in the country, there were some mental breakdowns that are very fixable. This one should be a classic Wisconsin-Iowa game, low scoring, hard-hitting, and absolutely fucking awesome.

#4 Penn State @ #17 Minnesota PJ Fleck just got paid, the Gophers are off to their best start since before players wore face masks, and Penn State has to come in on the road to what should be the rowdiest group of Minnesotans since they lifted the ban on Sunday liquor sales. None of that matters. Penn State is going to do bad things to the Gophers. Minnesota is averaging 38 points a game, but they also have not played a defense this good yet. The Nittany Lions have allowed over 14 points just once this season, allowing 9 touchdowns through 8 games. I’m not a statistician, but that’s pretty fucking good. Penn State by a mile (Yes I fucking hate the gophers) #2 LSU @ #3 Alabama This game is going to come down to one thing, and everyone knows what it is. If Tua plays, the Tide have every opportunity to win this game. A Heisman candidate at QB, an NFL-ready group of receivers, and a defense that although not quite as dominant as usual, is still very good and can help the tide make another title run. Without that Heisman hopeful, however, things might go downhill. If Tua isn’t running the show, obviously Bama’s offense will not be as successful. That leads to more time of possession for LSU’s offense and Joe Burrow to be out on the field and ware down the Tide Defense. I think this game will be close either way, I hope it will be close either way, but my prediction falls completely on Tua’s ankle. Other Notable Games: In Mountain West action, if Wyoming finds a way to knock of Boise State, there will be a 3 way tie for first place in the Mountain Division, and Boise’s goal of making a New Year’s Six bowl will be all but over. In the Big 12, if Kansas State can avoid the upset in Austin against a reeling Texas team, their Big 12 championship hopes will remain alive. They will need help, however, and their best hope would be for Baylor to knock off Oklahoma next weekend. With both Oregon and Utah being off this week, Georgia will need to play a solid game against a decent Missouri team to keep their playoff hopes as a one-loss team alive.

Here's to a hopefully great

week of the best damn sport on the planet