Top 25 Previews
UHND.com - Joe Brunson
10/25/2001
This Week’s Top 25 Matchups
West Virginia (2-4) At #1 Miami (5-0) –33 7:00 pm ET Thursday
Miami does not want to be left out of the championship game again this season and with the BCS ranking them at 4th, they will be ready to make a statement. The Hurricanes will be looking to win their 16th straight game as the Mountaineers come to town. West Virginia is in for a thrashing, as they have allowed 101-points in their last three defeats. Last season Ken Dorsey threw for 291 yards as Miami slapped West Virginia 47-10. The Mountaineers biggest threat offensively this season has been RB Avon Cobourne. Look for the Hurricanes to come out strong seeking to show the world what they have, in a national broadcast on Thursday night. Miami is much too balanced to stub their toe on a Mountaineer team that is still searching for a passing game that won’t be found in Miami. Miami should blast West Virginia by 35 in a game vying for respect.
#2 Oklahoma (7-0) At #3 Nebraska (8-0) –4 12:00pm ET
The first big test of the season for Nebraska brings in the defending National Champions in what seems to be a prelude to the Big XXII title game. Oklahoma has been accustomed to big games under Bob Stoops. Since his arrival in 1999, they have played foes ranked in the top ten on eight different occasions. They have won every game by an average of 18 points.
Heisman Trophy candidate Eric Crouch leads Nebraska into their 80th battle against the Sooners. He is the soul of this Husker team amassing 1,763 total yards with 21 touchdowns and a 32-5 total record as starting quarterback. The leading rusher on the team is tailback Dahrran Diedrick with an average of 5.8 yards/carry. Crouch will face an Oklahoma defense led by All-American linebacker Rocky Calmus and star safety Roy Williams. Together they headline a Sooner defense ranked 11th in the nation. Nebraska has run its way through most teams this year without having to air it out much. Sure they have thrown a bone or two to the tight ends to keep them blocking, but they are clearly a ground attack team and that is the way they piled up three national championships in the nineties. Everyone knows what the Huskers are going to do; the problem is stopping them.
Bob Stoops seems to have found his QB in Jason White. He played great in his first start against Baylor throwing for 343 yards and two scores. Of course, the Blackshirts will pose a far greater threat than the Bears showed. Nebraska is ranked 6th in rushing defense, 3rd in pass efficiency defense, and 4th in total defense. The rankings sound good but the Red Raiders dropped 31 points and 440 total yards on the Huskers in Lincoln. Those numbers are intriguing considering that Texas Tech’s offense is extremely similar to the Sooners’ scheme.
Look for Oklahoma to crowd the line, forcing Crouch to go vertical with his game. His passing numbers are modest and throwing when teams are expecting, it is not his best talent. The question is will Oklahoma be able to propel Coach Frank Solich out of his play-calling comfort zone. If Crouch and company are able to get the ground gaming going, it could be a long day in Lincoln for Oklahoma. Remember, before QB Ell Roberson went into the tank for KSU, he was able to pound out 115 yards and three scores in a Crouch-like performance. The fact remains that the Sooners are veterans of big games like this, even on the road. Oklahoma always seems to step up their level of play when it matters and this should be no exception. Nebraska is 0-2 under Solich against teams ranked in the top three and has not been in the monster games that Stoops’ squad have battled in. Oklahoma will pull out another close one by three.
Syracuse (4-2) At #4 Virginia Tech (6-0) -18 12:00pm ET
Could this finally be a test for the beast that is Virginia Tech? Head Coach Paul Pasqualoni seems to think so as his Orangeman have rattled off six straight wins after dropping their opening two games and have a 3-0 record in the Big East. Sophomore QB R.J. Anderson blasted Temple last week throwing for 308 yards and two scores to give Syracuse another threat to go with RB James Mungro. Syracuse is battle-tested and looking to make a statement against a team that wrecked them 62-0 two years ago. The Hokies continue to impress defensively recording three shutouts this season and leading the nation in scoring defense (7.3 ppg), rushing defense (42.5 ypg) and total defense (185.6 ypg). Look for new quarterback Anderson to continue the spark and actually give the Hokies a game. In the end, the Hokie ground attack and special teams play will be too much for Syracuse to overcome, but they will play inspired football. Hokies by 13.
#5 UCLA (6-0) –6.5 At #22 Stanford (4-1) 3:30pm ET
Stanford will face its second top five opponent Saturday, coming off of their upset against Oregon last week. However, this time it will be without starting QB Randy Fasani. Sophomore Chris Lewis will now be at the helms following an engineering comeback win last week. He led three scoring drives and helped to end the 23-game home-winning streak in Eugene. The defense he will face this week will be much tougher as the Bruins are #1 in the Pac-10. As always, UCLA will bring a potent offense into Palo Alto and Heisman Candidate DeShaun Foster will lead it. He heads the nation with 155.0 ypg. QB Cory Paus has been steadily improving this season relishing his best performance last week against California going 13-of-16 for 273 yards and three scores. Stanford has been able to put points on the board this season, but without Fasani, they may be hard pressed against a very quick Bruin squad. UCLA is playing with too much confidence and will win this showdown by nine.
#6 Florida (5-1) –19.5 At #16 Georgia (5-1) 3:30pm ET
The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party should be a good one this year. Georgia is just one play away from being undefeated and is playing with much confidence after a huge win at Tennessee on October 6. Quarterback David Greene has been on fire for the Dawgs throwing for 300+ yards in each of the last three games. The biggest question this week will be the replacement of RB Musa Smith for Georgia. He is lingering from a groin injury and will most likely miss this week’s game. That is a huge loss for the offense as he has been their sole running caveat. The Bulldog defense is in for the biggest challenge they will face all year in Rex Grossman and company. Florida has had two weeks to stew over their loss to Auburn. Returning to action fired up will be an understatement as starting tailback Earnest Graham is back in the lineup. Georgia gave up 377 yards through the air last week against Kentucky which should make Steve Spurrier wide-eyed going into Athens. Florida has a very underrated defense and without Smith, Greene will have to be perfect to pull off this upset. Georgia will be ready but the Gators have been steaming to get back in action for two weeks. Florida will be too much in a 17-point victory.
#7 Texas (6-1) –21.5 At Missouri (3-3) 2:00pm ET
Texas has been using the loss to OU as a call to arms and has since scored 86-points in their last two games including a dominating performance against Colorado a week ago. Missouri comes into this contest batting .500 and looking to shake things up at home. In order to stand a chance QB Kirk Farmer must play even better than the 246-yard three-touchdown performance against Kansas last week. Even with that, it won’t matter as Texas is playing their best ball of the year and is looking to keep making statements en route to what they hope will be a BCS bid. QB Chris Simms is playing with a lot of confidence since Mack Brown stuck with him after the OU loss. Many fans and critics alike were calling for the Major to reappear but since the defeat, Simms has thrown for 469 yards and eight touchdowns in two games. Texas is on a roll and should put a 26-point pounding on an average Mizzou team.
#8 Michigan (5-0) –5.5 At Iowa (4-2) 3:30pm ET
The Wolverines have had a two weeks to prepare for the matchup in Iowa City. They rank third nationally against the run allowing a mere 52.7 ypg. That could cause problems for a Hawkeye team that relies on their ground game starring Ladell Betts who ran for 172 yards in their win against Indiana last week. Iowa must have a big game from QB Kyle McCann who boasts a 146.7 rating. Michigan has won five straight after dropping their first game to Washington who they clearly outplayed. John Navarre and B.J. Askew have been pacing the Michigan offense but the real reason they are undefeated in the Big 10 is the play of LB Larry Foote and the defense. That will be the difference this week too. Iowa is not yet ready to challenge for the championship and it will show in a ten-point loss.
#14 South Carolina (6-1) At #9 Tennessee (4-1) –7.5
South Carolina looks to keep their conference championship dreams alive this week in Neyland Stadium. The running combo of Andrew Pinnock and Derek Watson needs a huge game to have a shot. Together they have rushed for 761 yards and scored 10 times this year. South Carolina has never beaten Tennessee and if they want any shot at playing in a major bowl, they must pull off the upset. Tennessee comes in with a dark horse candidate for the Heisman in TB Travis Stephens. He is third in the nation with 150.0 ypg and has gained 338 yards in his past two starts. Highly touted QB Casey Clausen has been steadily improving his game in averaging 299 yards in the last three contests. The biggest question will be how well the Gamecocks throw the ball in order to keep Tennessee from placing eight men on the line. Look for Skip Holtz to use backup QB Corey Jenkins and his running ability at times to create a spark. Lou has always been able to create a whirlwind of emotion in big games and this will be no exception. I like South Carolina in a 3-point upset.
#10 BYU (7-0) –14 At San Diego State (2-5) 9:05pm ET
The Cougars are brimming with anger about the release of the BCS polls. Even though they are undefeated and ranked 10th in the coach’s poll, they are not found in the top-15 in the BCS. Too bad for the Aztecs they have to play a boiling BYU team. San Diego State is having a rough go this year and it is about to get worse. Cougar QB Brandon Doman is ranked fourth nationally in pass efficiency and RB Luke Staley is piling up yardage as both a running and a receiving threat. While teams may be able to score on BYU, as Air Force showed in posting 33 last week, no one can stop them. They are averaging 48.5 ppg and it will not change in San Diego. BYU continues to sting bad opponents in a 28-point win.
#11 Washington (5-1) - At Arizona State (4-2) –3 10:15pm ET
Washington may be in for an ambush Saturday night as the Sun Devils are starting to take form under first-year coach Dirk Koetter. RB Delvon Flowers ran for a career-best 226 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Sun Devils to a 41-24 win over Oregon State last week. QB Jeff Krohn has played near flawlessly with 164.9 rating and will need it all, as the Huskies are great against the pass. However, they give up 167 ypg on the ground and gain only 2.9 yards/att. themselves this season. While Cody Pickett has played well at times, he throws picks often with four of his six coming last week. Washington has won four games this year by rallying in the fourth quarter. It is bound to catch up with them. ASU is playing strong of late and they should be able to let Flowers run wild. Pickett will not be able to rally the troops this week in hostile territory. Sun Devils by 6.
#12 Maryland (7-0) At #18 Florida State (4-2) –7.5 3:30pm ET
Maryland goes to Tallahassee looking for respect and the Seminoles are looking to regain the regard they have lost. Maryland is 0-11 all-time against Florida State and has allowed at least 45 points in all five visits to Tallahassee. Their big-time running back, Bruce Perry, has slowed his place down after leading the nation in rushing during the first half of the season. He has gained only 128 yards in his last two games. If he is hindered by a very quick Seminole defense, the pressure will turn to QB Shaun Hill. He has been steady for the Terrapins but has only 7 TD passes to 6 interceptions. Florida State will play QB Adrian McPherson at some point during this contest as Chris Rix has gotten sloppy committing eight turnovers in the past two games. I love Maryland, but not at Doak-Campbell Stadium. The Terps also seems a bit cocky coming into this game and they are about to find out why Florida State is still the big dog on ACC Street. Seminoles by 10.
#13 Oregon (6-1) At #15 Washington State (7-0) –2 7:00pm ET
Washington State is ready for this prime time showdown with rival Oregon. Jason Gesser is paving the way for the Cougars this season throwing for 1858 yards and 18 scores so far. Defensively, both of these teams have been vulnerable with Oregon giving up 470 yards to Stanford and WSU allowing lowly Montana State to rack up 28 points. Joey Harrington and Gesser should each get their yardage in this one. Washington State is ready for this game and they are hungry for a big-time win. It will take 40 points but the Cougars have the firepower. WSU by 3.
#17 Auburn (6-1) –1 At Arkansas (3-3) 12:30pm ET
Fayetteville is a very tough place to get a win. Just ask Lou Holtz. Nevertheless, win is just what Daniel Cobb and company intends to do. Cobb has thrown for 533 yards and five touchdowns in his two starts and continues to improve. Arkansas is having their problems on offense as their three quarterbacks have combined for just 774 yards through the air in six games. The Razorbacks have run for only 719 yards. However, under Coach Houston Nutt they believe and are 11-0 at home since his arrival. Overall, Auburn has too much to play for to overlook a feisty Hawg team. Tigers by 7.
#19 Fresno State (6-1) –5 At Hawaii (4-2) 10:05pm ET Friday
Fresno State will be looking to get things back on track as they travel to meet the Rainbows. Hawaii has found a star in the injury of QB Timmy Chang. Nick Rolovich threw for 324 yards and three scores in last weeks victory over Tulsa. It will be interesting to see how the Bulldogs come out of the gates after their loss. I think they will be fired up. Pat Hill is a good coach and he will get his team back together, as they still want the WAC championship. David Carr and company get back on track in a 9-point shootout win.
Northwestern (4-2) At #20 Purdue (4-1) –6 12:10pm ET
Purdue comes off their bye week to face a Northwestern team angry about a last second defeat to Penn State. The Boilermakers are 4-1 under Joe Tiller after bye weeks and are looking to regain prominence after a loss to Michigan. The Wildcats are getting great play from Zak Kustok but their defense allowed a poor Penn State team to nab 38 points. Offensively, Northwestern is the better team. However, with a week to prepare and playing at home the Boilers should be able to pull out a close one. Purdue by a 3.
Iowa State (5-1) At Texas A&M (6-1) –6 2:00pm ET
This could turn out to be a great game as both teams are playing well. The difference will come in the play of Aggie QB Mark Farris. He is finding ways to win with A&M and this game should be no different. Iowa State’s best chance for victory is RB Ennis Haywood, who ran for 196 yards and three scores last week versus Okie State. Iowa State plays very well on defense, but College Station is a tough place to win. The Cyclones are on their way up, but they are not there yet. Aggies by seven.
#25 Clemson (4-2) -7 At Wake Forest (3-3) 12:00pm ET
Which Woody Dantzler will show up this week? The one who compiled only 114 yards last week or the one who exploded for 517 yards two weeks ago against NC State? The Demon Deacons have a porous defense and will not be able to hold Woody back. He will be looking to take some names this week. Clemson will come after some respect in a 20-point victory.
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