#11 Oklahoma @ TCU –
17:00
Can the Horned Frogs beat another ranked team?
Before I start this
game preview I’m going to detail the Big 12 championship implications that come
along with it; Oklahoma win and Kansas State loses to Texas, then Oklahoma are
outright Big 12 champs and get an automatic BCS bid which would most likely see
them go to the Sugar Bowl. If both the Sooners and Wildcats win then they each
share the Big 12 title but K-State would get the bowl bid (Fiesta) as they own the
tiebreaker over Bob Stoops’ team. If Oklahoma lose, then K-State are guaranteed
a share of the title and the bowl bid, but will need to win outright to take
the Big 12 championship for themselves. Everything clear? Good, game preview
time.
With TCU beating the
Longhorns last week on Thanksgiving and Oklahoma coming off a OT win against
Bedlam Bowl rivals, Oklahoma State, this game really intrigues me and as
detailed above is a big matchup for the Sooners on the road.
They key matchup in
this game is going to be Landry Jones and the Sooner passing game against Gary
Patterson’s defense and their scheme. Although Jones hasn’t lived up to much of
the hype placed upon him, he has managed to do what all seniors hope to do,
have their best season, at least statistically anyway. He’s been at his best
away from home having only thrown three interceptions to his 14 TDs, but when
you look at the competition he’s faced on the road, UTEP, Texas Tech, Iowa
State, West Virginia, it’s nothing to be particularly impressed by.
This TCU team is
young, but Patterson’s defensive system still has his guys playing to a high
level despite having a sub-par year according to TCU defensive standards. They
key for the Horned Frogs defense is to continue being the ball hawks that they
have been this year, ranking third in the nation in interceptions with 20, a couple of
which went back for touchdowns. Jones and the Sooner offense will most likely
look to be airing it out as the TCU rushing defense ranks 7th in the
nation with a 97.27 yard average and the Sooners only rank 61st in
the nation on the ground, and this is where those interceptions become key, if the
TCU defenders can get their mitts on some Landry Jones passes, it’s their best
chance of coming out with a win.
Prediction: Thinking
the Sooners take this one, but maybe a little too close for comfort against a
TCU side that might just have another surprise. Oklahoma 31-24.
#2 Alabama vs #3
Georgia – 21:00 @ The Georgia Dome, Atlanta.
The unofficial national semi-final.
Can anyone say
national semi-final? That’s pretty much what this game amounts to, win, and you
get to go play for all the marbles in Miami against Notre Dame, lose, and
you’ve had an average SEC year and you get to go to a decent bowl game.
For many, Georgia kind
of became irrelevant after they rolled over against South Carolina, and apart
from a close win over Florida, none of their wins have been overly impressive, but don’t be misguided into thinking that this team doesn’t deserve to be in
the SEC Championship game because of that.
Georgia are very dynamic
offensively, despite not setting the world alight either running or passing the
ball, they are a threat to any defense no matter who gets the rock. In Aaron
Murray they have a junior gunslinger who’s put up over 3000 yards and 30 TDs
through the air and has reliable targets in both Tavarres King (704 yds, 8 TDs) and
Malcolm Mitchell (532 yds, 5 TDs). The Bulldog backfields sees the potent combination of Todd
Gurley and Keith Marshall who have combined for nearly 2000 yards and 22 TDs.
With these offensive
weapons, it’s going to be tough for Alabama to key towards stopping one, and
they will have to play a more balanced defense to cover all eventualities,
which could open up some holes for one of Georgia’s weapons to exploit. In the
end I believe that Aaron Murray is the one who has to go out and win this game
for Georgia, as long as he’s getting good support on the ground, he's going to have
the chance to make big plays against the Alabama secondary.
The Crimson tide are
almost a mirror of the Bulldog offense, a junior trigger man in AJ McCarron
that has performed to an All-American standard this year, and is also backed up by a
running back combo that can move the ball on anyone in Eddie Lacy and TJ Yeldon. For me, ‘Bama are going to
have to grind it out with the run game because this is where they
outclass Georgia's defence who rank 69th in the nation in yards given up per
game on the ground with 163, whilst the Crimson Tide rank 22nd
in rushing yards per game with 214.
Either way, this game
is going to be an SEC slugfest with both teams having a great shot at winning
it, get your popcorn ready.
Prediction: This one is
a coin flip for me, I don’t really have much confidence in picking the winner
correct, but I think I’ll go with the Alabama run-game just being too much for
the Bulldogs to handle. Alabama 31 – 21.
#18 Texas @ #6 Kansas
State – 01:00
Are the Wildcats ready to take the Big 12 for their own?
The last game of the
night on ESPN America will be the second half of the Big 12 title decider and
it should be a good one … if Texas decide to show up.
The Longhorns have
been one of college footballs biggest enigmas this year and I for one do not
know what to make of them; are they the team that showed up last week against
TCU (I watched them and they were very lacklustre) or are they the team that
bludgeoned Ole Miss, beat a good OK State team and then handled a dangerous
Texas Tech team on the road? I just don’t know which Texas will show up this weekend, but I’ll break down some things for you to look out for.
Running back is a
position of strength for Texas, but so far they haven’t really found the sweet
spot, long story short they have 4 guys who are dangerous with the ball in
hand, but they all seem to limit each others carries and effectiveness. The starter is freshman
Johnathan Gray who is the holder of the all-time high school TD record with 205
and is a pretty complete back, even at this point, but has only 3 touchdowns on
the year. Their touchdown machine has been their short yardage back, Joe
Bergeron, who has 16 scores on the year, and then there’s sophomore Malcolm
Brown, who was a standout last season for the Longhorns but has been injured
this year, and finally Daje Johnson, who only has 189 yards on the year, but is
a freshman that is a home run threat. You will see them all get touches on
Saturday, but Texas really needs one of them to stand out and make a difference
against this tough Wildcat defense.
Texas will be starting
Case McCoy at QB in place of David Ash who struggled last week and is banged up, but in my
opinion I can’t see the difference it will make, I personally feel that neither
QB has show the consistency or intangibles to be a top level starter as I’ve
watched them both be outstanding as well as absolutely terrible in the same
game. The only fun thing about Case starting is that we’ll once again see the
McCoy to Shipley connection with Jaxon being one of the Longhorns best pass catching threats.
Since being one and
done at #1, the Wildcats have had two weeks to stew and plan for the Longhorns
at home and I think this will have lit a fire under them and given them a huge
hunger to go out and destroy Texas. The bye week has not only given them extra
game-planning time but has also provided Collin Klein with another week off to
recover from his concussion problem, which many Wildcat fans believe has been
the reason his play hasn’t been up to snuff lately.
Everyone knows what
they’re going to get with this team, a tough, physical and well disciplined
unit that generates turnovers and puts Klein in a position to make plays when
it matters. Some believe that Optimus Klein isn’t out of the Heisman race yet
(not me), so we could see a big game from him as the Wildcats really make a
statement to the Big 12 by putting the Longhorns to the sword.
Prediction: If Texas
play well then it could be closer than many expect, but I feel they won’t
perform on the road and the Wildcats will be far too good for them. Kansas
State 34 – 18.
