Recap on BYU, Preview of South Alabama

Recap

Argh. Those sneaky Mormons. I figured it would be a close game, and frankly the way Nebraska was playing they deserved to lose, but it’s always heartbreaking to lose like that. Oh wait…*cue Northwestern feels*: 

It’s actually funny. Read a good joke that they should’ve put Westerkamp in on defense because BYU’s catch was roughly where the above video took place. What comes around goes around I suppose. But let’s not pity on Northwestern, they did society a favor and exposed Stanford for the overrated fraud they really are (and hope that the rest of the teams Stanford plays can keep that up).

But back to Nebraska. They did all of the things I cautioned about: “Armstrong needs to not be a goofball” he looked spectacular in the first quarter! Then must’ve remembered he’s Armstrong… “Establishing a run game is key” 126 yards of rushing between 6 different rushers…3 of the rushing attempts were on fly-sweeps (which props to Riley, all 3 times it worked giving 35 yards total!) but Abdullah was doing 100-yard games in his sleep. Wilbon looked good out of the backfield, but the running core needs to step up if they’re going to challenge Miami in a couple weeks. “Containing the QB will create minimal problems” I saw at halftime that Tysome Hill accounted for all but 1 yard of BYU’s total yards in the first. Freaking. Half (That’s both passing AND rushing). That’s not containment.

Perks of playing a decent opponent for the season opener I suppose.

This Week in Football:

The AP Top 25 is up and this is how it looks as opposed to my take on it:

1. Ohio State (First half against VT was shaky, but they pulled it together)

2. Alabama (Up 1)

3. TCU (Down 1) (Wasn’t really a clean start that society was hoping for, so the drop is justified)

4. Baylor

5. Michigan State

6. Auburn (Still think they’re not Top 10 material but w/e)

7. Oregon (Also didn’t really look flashy in their opener, plus QB got injured)

8. USC

9. Notre Dame (Up 2) (Bit generous for beating up on Texas, not quite Top 10 material. Plus RB is out for season)

10. Georgia (Down 1)

11. Florida State (Down 1)

12. Clemson (Rough start, loss of WR for half the season at least)

13. UCLA

14. LSU (Game got cancelled, trollolololol)

15. Georgia Tech (Up 1)

16. Texas A&M (NR) (WAY too generous for beating Arizona State, also considering it was close through most of the game. Ranked for sure, but I would give them a week outside the Top 20 before putting them in the mix)

17. Ole Miss

18. Arkansas

19. Oklahoma

20. Boise State (Up 3)

21. Missouri (Up 3)

22. Arizona (Looked EXTREMELY shaky, loss of star defensive player for a few weeks at least)

23. Tennessee (Up 2) (Still thinking they’re overrated, somehow they are a legit “toss up” against Oklahoma)

24. Utah (NR)

25. Mississippi State (NR) (The first actual underrated team. This squad has minimally changed since last year’s undefeated streak, how are they not ranked higher?!?!?)

Dropped: Arizona State (Dropping to unranked is a bit harsh), Wisconsin (They played Bama being outside the Top 20, what did they expect?), Stanford (Shouldn’tve been ranked to begin with)

Trending: BYU (Yeah…but Jesus answered their prayers…against Nebraska…and they lost their QB for the year), Northwestern (They only beat Stanford…), Oklahoma State, West Virginia (Both are always showing potential so I’m ok with that)

What to Watch for This Week:

Last Week: 3-3 :/ Second ever non-winning week since I’ve been doing predictions, BUT, I’ve still yet to have a losing week, so ha.

Oklahoma @ Tennessee – Oklahoma 38, Tennessee 24

The fact that this is a ranked v ranked matchup is just pathetic. Tennessee still has a few more years to be relevant, but if they do get the upset here, I’ll go ahead and eat my words.

Oregon @ Michigan State – Michigan State 41, Oregon 36

Being the small Duck fan that I am, I’m a bit heartbroken that I have to say this, but they will probably be on the losing side of this one despite me saying in my previews they should get this game. On the flip side…for Spartan fans, I did say that if they get this game, they are in prime position for a national championship bid. So bottom line, Oregon didn’t look terribly good in their season opener and Michigan State should be able to exploit that.

LSU @ Mississippi State – Mississippi State 34, LSU 28

Not being able to see what LSU has to offer is giving this prediction a downer, but I’m a firm believer in the Bulldogs. They got the Tigers on the road last year, so with minimal changes they should get them at home. Will still be close and a hell of a game though.

Dipping to other Leagues:

The NFL is back! I won’t give too much insight until later in the season but I will throw in Thursday night, Sunday night, and Monday night predictions!

Thurs Night: Steelers @ Patriots – Patriots 34, Steelers 28 (I WROTE THIS BEFORE THE GAME BUT DIDN’T HAVE TIME TO POST SUE ME)

(Seahawk bias incoming) Patriots begin their undeserving title defense with hosting the Steelers. Tom Brady is off the hook, so the home crowd will be pumped, to which should give the Pats the necessary edge to get the Bell-less Steelers. Rothlisberger is my QB for fantasy this year however (which stinks, because the one year I’m willing to accept defeat for the Bears, Rodgers got taken. Context: Rodgers has been my fantasy QB the past two years in EVERY league and I’m a Bears fan. I have to admit the cheese head does work.) so I’m pulling for a big air game from Big Ben, especially since Bell is out.

Editors Note: Rothlisberger beat his fantasy projection so all is good from this game.

Sunday Night: Cowboys @ Giants – Cowboys 27, Giants 24

This one will be a good one. Both teams now lack a run game, have bipolar quarterbacks with great receivers, and defensive issues. My bias wants the Cowboys to fail miserably, but I unfortunately can’t say that in this season opener. Expect the game to be decided by the last drive though. But Dan Bailey is my kicker so a couple FGs from the Cowboys would be spectacular.

Mon Night: Eagles @ Falcons – Falcons 31, Eagles 27

The Falcons are actually a good team, despite a lack of a run game, when they are healthy. Now that they are, Matty Ice and company should get a nice win at home against the new look Eagles in the battle of the birds.

Vikings @ 49ers – 49ers 24, Vikings 21

Another close one, 49ers because they’re at home and the Vikings still need to run off a few kinks with Bridgewater and Peterson in the backfield. I would not be surprised though if AP just goes off and runs all over the shattered remains of the 49ers defense.

The Big Red Throwdown:

This week is against South Alabama. Usually this would be the first game of the season to get the team warmed up for tougher opponents, such as BYU, but now this is the warm up to Miami. Trying to fix all the kinks from preseason, the ones that got exposed when playing BYU, and etc.,  all just so they can beat up a weak foe. “But South Alabama has a better record than Nebraska!” Ok…they won by 10 against an FCS opponent…and Nebraska lost on a Hail Mary. Nebraska is favored by 27, and I can concur to that spread.

Nebraska O v South Alabama D: A good chance for Nebraska to work on the run game before Miami. Westerkamp looks great.

South Alabama O v Nebraska D: A good chance for Nebraska to work on the pass defense before Miami, because Kayaa will rip them apart if they’re not ready. Gerry looks great.

Special Teams: RIP Demornay. RIP Foltz. (From what I’ve heard, Foltz may be out for Miami too, hasn’t been confirmed but it is not a serious injury thankfully)

Prediction: Nebraska 52, South Alabama 20

P.S, Did I mention Westerkamp is amazing?