FAVORITE TEAMS

AAC: 0-2, OVERALL: 5-9

USF (3-3) at Navy– lost 35-3

• It was expected for Navy to win against USF, especially since their defense improved. USF plays East Carolina next, but that’s a winnable game for East Carolina if USF’s offense is outplayed by them.

 

TULSA (2-4) at #21 Cincinnati– lost 24-13

• Tulsa did their best to stay within reach with Cincinnati, but their offense was no match for Cincy’s defense. They’re two losses away from being eliminated from bowl contention. That could end my two-season prediction of AAC West teams going bowling (SMU 2017, Tulane 2018)

 

ACC: 2-0, OVERALL: 11-3

VIRGINIA (4-2) vs. Duke– won 48-14

• Virginia bounced back from a 2-game losing streak in a big way. Virginia’s defense, quarterback Bryce Perkins and the rest of the squad succeeded in suffocating Duke the entire game. Now they’re holding first place with only UNC, Georgia Tech, and Virginia Tech to defeat for the Coastal. Their next game’s at Louisville and they’re sneaky good. Virginia lost the last two road games and turnovers hurt them royally. It’ll take a successful offensive game and their defense to slow down Louisville’s revamped offense.

 

WAKE FOREST (5-1) vs. Florida State– won 22-20

• Wake Forest is bowl-eligible for the fourth straight season under coach Dave Clawson, first time in program history. They’re now 6-1 with only five games left and it’s still no picnic for them. NC State’s up next and Wake Forest’s offense will be key to blow past NC State’s good defense. The bad news, Wake Forest’s defense loses one of their captains in linebacker Justin Strnad for the season.

BIG TEN: 1-1, OVERALL: 12-2

#16 MICHIGAN (5-1) at #7 Penn State– lost 28-21

• Michigan’s conference title bout and playoff run is over. The Wisconsin loss to Illinois makes it 100% sure they’re not in. But they can still redeem themselves by upsetting Notre Dame at home, run through their schedule, and hope to shutdown Ohio State’s playoff hopes in the last game of November.

 

#20 MINNESOTA (6-0) at Rutgers– won 42-7

• I’m happy that my prediction’s working out for the Golden Gophers. They’re now 7-0 and just need a win against Maryland to start 8-0 for the first time since 1941 when they were in the Western conference. There’s not much more that needs to be said. Continue “rowing the boat” Golden Gophers.

 

BIG 12: 2-0, OVERALL: 9-4

KANSAS STATE (3-2) vs. TCU–  won 24-17

• Kansas State made a statement again against TCU and ended their 2-game losing streak. They had to win this one because they host Oklahoma this weekend. Unless they have the essence of Bill Snyder to sneak up on my Sooners and slow them down, expect a loss this upcoming Saturday.

 

IOWA STATE (4-2) at Texas Tech– won 34-24

• Quarterback Brock Purdy continues to do his thing, but they may have a consistent back in Breece Hall to get things done too. If this tandem works, then it’ll be one hell of a three-game series coming up for them. They play Oklahoma State before traveling to Oklahoma, and then return home to play Texas. Good luck to the Cyclones.

 

C-USA: 2-0, OVERALL: 7-7

FIU (3-3) vs. UTEP– won 32-17

• FIU’s still out of reach for the East division title. They’ll need help from Marshall this weekend and FAU the next weekend to start Western Kentucky’s domino effect. If the Hilltoppers lose those games and FIU continues their winning streak, they’ll need to win their last two C-USA games (at FAU, at Marshall) to own the East division.

 

NORTH TEXAS (2-4) vs. Mid Tenn– won 33-30

• Believe it or not, this was a big win for North Texas over a good Mid Tenn. They’re 3-4 but they’re 2-1 in-conference and tied for second in the West division. Charlotte will be a tricky next matchup, but the 49ers are 0-3 in the conference. UTEP should be an easy win too. Then their only competition overall is two of the last five games on their schedule (at Louisiana Tech, UAB). They need to defeat Louisiana Tech and hope a C-USA team defeats Southern Miss for North Texas to win the West division.

 

INDEPENDENT: 0-1, OVERALL: 3-4

ARMY (3-3) at Georgia State– lost 28-21

• Army loses their third straight game and now have four losses, which means they’re not winning 10 games again this season. They’re trending down due to their opponents’ overall improvement that Army’s facing. Their next game is at home against San Jose State, and just like the previous teams I’ve mentioned, San Jose State’s also a little improved. Let’s see if Army’s defense can shutdown San Jose State’s big play offense.

 

MAC: 1-1, OVERALL: 7-8

MIAMI (OH) (2-4) vs. Northern Illinois– won 27-24

• Miami (OH) wins two-straight against Northern Illinois and are now tied for first place in the East division. Their next two games (Kent State and Ohio) are potential deciding factors for the East division. The Redhawks won against both teams at home last season. Unfortunately, Miami hasn’t won at Kent, Ohio since 2011, nor have they won at Athens, Ohio since 2005. This is a big opportunity for them to control the East.

 

WESTERN MICHIGAN (4-3) at Eastern Michigan- lost 34-27

• Western Michigan lost a tough one to a good Eastern Michigan squad. They’re now two games out of first for the West division, but all isn’t lost yet. In the parody of the MAC West, Central Michigan and Ball State are above them, Toledo, and Northern Illinois. It’s simply laughable, but I’m not surprised. I’ll explain more about Ball State and Central Michigan soon. Anyway, Western Michigan already beat Central Michigan and they play Ball State on November 5th. Ball State plays Ohio before Western Michigan. If Ball State loses those games, all the Broncos need is a win and another Central Michigan loss to control the West.

 

 

MWC: 1-1, OVERALL: 9-5

NEVADA (4-2) at Utah State– lost 36-10

• Nevada’s trending with close wins and blowout losses and that last weekend adds onto it. Their next game’s at Wyoming and that;s not an easy team to play. They already lost two straight against Wyoming, but this would be a big win to be a game closer to bowl-eligibility at home against New Mexico. Wyoming’s not a good passing team and Nevada can stop the run and rush the passer when they need to. Quarterback Malik Henry must lessen the mistakes because he’s currently one touchdown to four interceptions. That won’t lead Nevada to a bowl game with a quarterback playing like that.

 

AIR FORCE (4-2) at Hawai’i– won 56-26

• Air Force gets another big win in the Mountain West. They’re one win away from bowl-eligibility for the first time since 2016. They host Utah State and hope to equalize them with a win after losing 42-32 last season. The only problem is the health of their quarterbacks.

 

PAC-12: 1-1, OVERALL: 11-3

#17 ARIZONA STATE (5-1) at #13 Utah– lost 21-3

• Arizona State lost an opportunity for first place in the Pac-12 South, but all isn’t lost yet. Utah lost to USC and still have road games against Washington and Arizona. The Sun Devils must run through the rest of their schedule, which won’t be easy either. UCLA’s a tough team to figure out, USC is…USC, Oregon State is offensively improved, Oregon’s the obvious favorite despite playing on the road, and Arizona’s never an easy out when quarterback Khalil Tate’s on the field. They must win most of those games and hope Utah falters.

 

#12 OREGON (5-1) at #25 Washington– won 35-31

• Oregon’s win over Washington sets themselves apart from the rest of the North division right now. However, their last five games won’t be a cakewalk. Let’s even consider that Oregon State’s not a cakewalk too. As long as Oregon’s defense plays at a high level and Justin Herbert is still their quarterback, it’s not too difficult to clean out their schedule.

 

SEC: 1-1, OVERALL: 11-3

#22 MISSOURI (5-1) at Vanderbilt– lost 21-14

• I don’t know what happened or why Missouri lost to Vanderbilt? Their offense wasn’t great. The run game was lead by quarterback Kelly Bryant when he’s already throwing the ball, so running back Larry Roundtree III didn’t have a good game nor enough carries. The defense wasn’t bad, but they were hit with a few big plays that gave Vandy the advantage. This could also stem from Mizzou playing their second ever game on the road too. The potential postseason ban is still weighing over the Tigers. It’s concerning because they play their next two road games at Kentucky and in two weeks…sigh…Georgia.

 

#11 AUBURN (5-1) at Arkansas– won 51-10

• As for these Tigers, they destroyed Arkansas without hesitation. Their next game is another big one against LSU at Death Valley. Since 2000, Auburn’s won only seven against LSU within that span. To add on to their immense challenge, Auburn hasn’t won at Death Valley since 1999. Auburn’s true freshmen quarterback Bo Nix is playing against an experienced, talented quarterback in Joe Burrow. Auburn’s defense will be heavily relied upon to slow down their offense because Auburn’s offense must hope LSU’s defense still has enough flaws for Bo Nix and his running mates to make some plays. If Auburn wins this game, they could be THAT team to cause a continental shift in the SEC, the Top 25, and the playoff scenario next month.

 

 

SUN BELT: 1-1, OVERALL: 9-4

ARKANSAS STATE (3-3) vs. Louisiana– lost 37-20

• There’s not much to say except the Red Wolves are wounded and limping through their schedule. They do play Texas State, Coastal Carolina and South Alabama on their remaining schedule, so six wins is still possible. As for teams like UL Monroe, and Georgia Southern, that won’t be simple. If they can win out at least four of their five games, they’ll go bowling for the ninth straight season.

 

#24 APPALACHIAN STATE (5-0) vs. UL Monroe– won 52-7

• Appalachian State should run over South Alabama, so lets look beyond that game. Their last four of five games will be their biggest finish to the season. Appalachian State’s looking to avenge last season’s loss to their rival Georgia Southern. They play the next two road games at South Carolina and Georgia State and they could end Appalachian State’s undefeated run, and Georgia State could steal their East division title too. Texas State’s a cakewalk. And then their season finale ends at Troy, which also won’t be an easy finish if they go 11-0 prior to playing them. No one’s talking about Appalachian State since they’re from the Sun Belt, but upsetting South Carolina will make heads turn to the Mountaineers.