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Florida-15 over South Carolina
The Gamecocks started off with a big bang to the season, but as they have so many times in recent years they have started collapsing towards the end of the season. South Carolina has dropped 3 of their last 4 games and they have a legitimate possibility of losing the final two games on their schedule which would equal a 6-6 campaign after a 5-1 start.
The Gamecocks may look a little different as they take the field against the Gators this weekend. South Carolina will be 1 of 2 schools promoting the "Wounded Warrior" Campaign in tribute to the armed forces just a few days following Veterans Day. The Gamecocks will be wearing black uniforms with desert camouflage outlining for the contests.
The South Carolina offense has moved the ball in recent weeks, but they have not been able to get any points when getting into the red zone. QB Stephen Garcia ranks 2nd in the SEC in passing and has recorded 3 straight 300 yards passing performances for the first time in his career. However, South Carolina is averaging just 14 points per game over the past 3 outings.
Freshman WR Alshon Jeffery continues to be the new go to guy. Jeffery has 552 yards over the last 5 games including 5 touchdowns. Jeffery is a big body receiver who was highly recruited and is proving he is going to have a very bright future. Jeffery broke open an 80 yard touchdown pass on the first play of the 2nd half loss against Arkansas last week and the Gamecocks will need all types of similar big plays this Saturday.
The Gators completely blew out South Carolina last year at home 56-6. Florida has owned South Carolina in the history of the series with a mark of 17-1 in the last 18 meetings. The only loss the Gators suffered was back in 2005 in Columbia that derailed their chances to compete in the SEC Championship. However Florida is already locked into the SEC Championship, but another upset loss could impact their National Championship hopes.
One big factor the Gators have going for them heading into the contest, is that South Carolina has not been able to stop the run recently. The Gamecocks are allowing 145 yards per contest and that is good news for a Gators rushing offense that ranks 8th in the nation with 240 yards per game. QB Tim Tebow continues to lead the team with 578 yards on the ground with 9 rushing touchdowns. However, running backs Jeffery Demps and Chris Rainey will be the speedy runners who will have the opportunity to make big plays. The running backs will have plenty of chances to make big plays and they will need to as the Gamecocks secondary is pretty talented.
Tebow throwing the football has only thrown for 1,531 yards on the season, but Florida has not had to throw the ball very often due to their running success. Still, Tebow has thrown 11 touchdowns to just 4 interceptions. Expect the Gators to run the ball very often with success, but then take a few shots down field to finish some drives. It is important that Florida gets out front early and does not allow the South Carolina young defense to gain confidence. If that happens, there should not be much worry for Gators fans. However if the South Carolina offense can score some touchdowns and jump out to an early lead, it may be a closer game than expected.
The Florida running game is too strong. Even though the GameCocks have a great D, the Gators are just too much.
Illinois - 3.5 over Northwestern I don't have the slightest idea what Coach Ron Zook has done to fire up a previously hapless Illinois but it's working. In their last two games the Illini have pistol-whipped Michigan, 38-13, at home and knocked off a good Minnesota team, 35-32, last week in Minneapolis. The figures say it will continue this week in this rivalry game against Northwestern which comes into this contest off a draining 17-10 win at Iowa last week and it is hard to get up for a game when you have won a game you are not expected to win and you put all you had to win it.
Wake Forest -5 over Florida State Wake Forest is much better than its record and has all the edges in this game against Florida State that has a defense that not only can't stop anybody - it can't even slow down anyone. Wake Forest has lost five games this season by a total of 13 points and should find things a bit easier against an FSU team that last week lost at Clemson, 40-24, and which has given up an average of 39.5 points in its last four games.
Kansas + 4 over Nebraska I just have a feeling Kansas is going to crank it up against a Nebraska team that arrives in Lawrence off an 10-3 win over Oklahoma. However, ugly or not, the win over the Sooners had to drain Nebraska physically and mentally. Against OU, Nebraska had 5 interceptions, 7 first downs and 180 yards of total offense and that won't get it done against a Kansas offense that seems ready to explode. KU opened the season 5-0 and has since gone 0-4, and this game give the Jayhawks a shot at redemption, especially after losing last week to arch-rival Kansas State, 17-10.
Boise State -31.5 over Idaho Last week with an unimpressive 45-35 win over Louisiana Tech BSU might of shot themself with a channce to get a BCS bowl bid. As good as Idaho was at the beginning of the season oh how the mighty have fallen. Bsu won't screw around this week they still want that BCS bowl bid and will need to beat Idaho in impressive fashion.
Kansas State +1 over Missouri Who would have thought it - that Kansas State just might make it to the Big 12 championship game against Texas? When Coach Bill Snyder returned to take over the helm in Manhattan, he faced a monumental rebuilding process and did not seem to have the talent to be more than competitive. The season did start slowly but the Wildcats woke up, put it all together and are playing at the highest level, standing 3-1 in their last 4 games, with the loss coming 42-30 at Oklahoma. Missouri opened the season 4-0 and then went into a state of collapse and comes into this off a stunning home 40-32 home loss to Baylor.
North Carolina +3 over Miami North Carolina has looked like a new football team since it is healthy and at full strength for the first time this season. The Tar Heels had everybody back two games ago and won at Virginia Tech, 20-17, and repeated that form at home last week in knocking off upstart Duke, 19-6. This is now the Tar Heel team I felt was a top ten squad at the beginning of the season. Miami won't be an easy out but the experience of North Carolina, especially at the skill positions, should make the difference.
The Gamecocks started off with a big bang to the season, but as they have so many times in recent years they have started collapsing towards the end of the season. South Carolina has dropped 3 of their last 4 games and they have a legitimate possibility of losing the final two games on their schedule which would equal a 6-6 campaign after a 5-1 start.
The Gamecocks may look a little different as they take the field against the Gators this weekend. South Carolina will be 1 of 2 schools promoting the "Wounded Warrior" Campaign in tribute to the armed forces just a few days following Veterans Day. The Gamecocks will be wearing black uniforms with desert camouflage outlining for the contests.
The South Carolina offense has moved the ball in recent weeks, but they have not been able to get any points when getting into the red zone. QB Stephen Garcia ranks 2nd in the SEC in passing and has recorded 3 straight 300 yards passing performances for the first time in his career. However, South Carolina is averaging just 14 points per game over the past 3 outings.
Freshman WR Alshon Jeffery continues to be the new go to guy. Jeffery has 552 yards over the last 5 games including 5 touchdowns. Jeffery is a big body receiver who was highly recruited and is proving he is going to have a very bright future. Jeffery broke open an 80 yard touchdown pass on the first play of the 2nd half loss against Arkansas last week and the Gamecocks will need all types of similar big plays this Saturday.
The Gators completely blew out South Carolina last year at home 56-6. Florida has owned South Carolina in the history of the series with a mark of 17-1 in the last 18 meetings. The only loss the Gators suffered was back in 2005 in Columbia that derailed their chances to compete in the SEC Championship. However Florida is already locked into the SEC Championship, but another upset loss could impact their National Championship hopes.
One big factor the Gators have going for them heading into the contest, is that South Carolina has not been able to stop the run recently. The Gamecocks are allowing 145 yards per contest and that is good news for a Gators rushing offense that ranks 8th in the nation with 240 yards per game. QB Tim Tebow continues to lead the team with 578 yards on the ground with 9 rushing touchdowns. However, running backs Jeffery Demps and Chris Rainey will be the speedy runners who will have the opportunity to make big plays. The running backs will have plenty of chances to make big plays and they will need to as the Gamecocks secondary is pretty talented.
Tebow throwing the football has only thrown for 1,531 yards on the season, but Florida has not had to throw the ball very often due to their running success. Still, Tebow has thrown 11 touchdowns to just 4 interceptions. Expect the Gators to run the ball very often with success, but then take a few shots down field to finish some drives. It is important that Florida gets out front early and does not allow the South Carolina young defense to gain confidence. If that happens, there should not be much worry for Gators fans. However if the South Carolina offense can score some touchdowns and jump out to an early lead, it may be a closer game than expected.
The Florida running game is too strong. Even though the GameCocks have a great D, the Gators are just too much.
Illinois - 3.5 over Northwestern I don't have the slightest idea what Coach Ron Zook has done to fire up a previously hapless Illinois but it's working. In their last two games the Illini have pistol-whipped Michigan, 38-13, at home and knocked off a good Minnesota team, 35-32, last week in Minneapolis. The figures say it will continue this week in this rivalry game against Northwestern which comes into this contest off a draining 17-10 win at Iowa last week and it is hard to get up for a game when you have won a game you are not expected to win and you put all you had to win it.
Wake Forest -5 over Florida State Wake Forest is much better than its record and has all the edges in this game against Florida State that has a defense that not only can't stop anybody - it can't even slow down anyone. Wake Forest has lost five games this season by a total of 13 points and should find things a bit easier against an FSU team that last week lost at Clemson, 40-24, and which has given up an average of 39.5 points in its last four games.
Kansas + 4 over Nebraska I just have a feeling Kansas is going to crank it up against a Nebraska team that arrives in Lawrence off an 10-3 win over Oklahoma. However, ugly or not, the win over the Sooners had to drain Nebraska physically and mentally. Against OU, Nebraska had 5 interceptions, 7 first downs and 180 yards of total offense and that won't get it done against a Kansas offense that seems ready to explode. KU opened the season 5-0 and has since gone 0-4, and this game give the Jayhawks a shot at redemption, especially after losing last week to arch-rival Kansas State, 17-10.
Boise State -31.5 over Idaho Last week with an unimpressive 45-35 win over Louisiana Tech BSU might of shot themself with a channce to get a BCS bowl bid. As good as Idaho was at the beginning of the season oh how the mighty have fallen. Bsu won't screw around this week they still want that BCS bowl bid and will need to beat Idaho in impressive fashion.
Kansas State +1 over Missouri Who would have thought it - that Kansas State just might make it to the Big 12 championship game against Texas? When Coach Bill Snyder returned to take over the helm in Manhattan, he faced a monumental rebuilding process and did not seem to have the talent to be more than competitive. The season did start slowly but the Wildcats woke up, put it all together and are playing at the highest level, standing 3-1 in their last 4 games, with the loss coming 42-30 at Oklahoma. Missouri opened the season 4-0 and then went into a state of collapse and comes into this off a stunning home 40-32 home loss to Baylor.
North Carolina +3 over Miami North Carolina has looked like a new football team since it is healthy and at full strength for the first time this season. The Tar Heels had everybody back two games ago and won at Virginia Tech, 20-17, and repeated that form at home last week in knocking off upstart Duke, 19-6. This is now the Tar Heel team I felt was a top ten squad at the beginning of the season. Miami won't be an easy out but the experience of North Carolina, especially at the skill positions, should make the difference.
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