Big week on the college gridiron, with 12 of the top 25 teams playing each other. The Reverse Barometer take a stab at each:
No. 14 Stanford at No. 9 Notre Dame: First off, I think this will be the closest game of the day among the biggies. Both teams play defense and have solid coaching. Stanford is an effective red zone team and points will be at a premium in this one. Stanford might be the better team but I think home-field advantage will be big for the Irish. Everett Golson has turned into a pretty good passer, and he make a couple of plays late to win it in the clutch. Notre Dame kicks a field goal at the gun for the win. Irish 17, Cardinal 14
No. 4 Oklahoma at No. 25 TCU: TCU’s defense is pretty good this year, but is it good enough to slow down OU? I think they can, but the real question is can they score points? If TCU wants any chance to win, they have to generate some offense, which is not something they do well vs. Oklahoma. In 13 meetings, TCU has never scored more than 20 points vs. the Sooners. It proves to be their undoing again. Sooners 33, Horned Frogs 18
No. 15 LSU at No. 5 Auburn: This game is not really about how good Auburn is. It’s about how overrated LSU really is. When you lose upwards of 20 players over the last three off-seasons who have declared early for the NFL Draft, it’s going to have a negative effect on your football team. LSU still has talent, but it needs time to develop. Cue freshman Brandon Harris, who gets his first start at quarterback. I can think of a few better places to make your debut than the Plains. The Auburn defense will be coming after Harris, and LSU simply won’t score many points in this one to keep it close. Auburn 31, LSU 14
No. 6 Texas A&M at No. 12 Mississippi State: Everywhere I look, more and more people have jumped on the MSU bandwagon for this game. It’s a combination of Dak Prescott ripping up the LSU Tigers in Death Valley two weeks ago while Texas A&M had to go to overtime to beat Arkansas last week. OK, fair enough. But look a little closer. Mississippi State is ranked 121st in the nation in pass defense, while A&M is ranked fifth in passing offense. Wanna know why A&M was in a dogfight with Arkansas? Because the Aggies left approximately 17-to-21 points on the field and were their own worst enemy in the first half. I chalk that up to rust from playing three cupcakes in a row. The Aggies will score some points Saturday. A&M 45, MSU 27
No. 3 Alabama at No. 11 Ole Miss: I go back and forth on this one, and I keep coming back to the same conclusion – no way Bama loses this game. Ole Miss runs an up-tempo offense and the Tide will not like that. This is the best foe that either team has played to this point in the season, but I like Alabama for one reason – they stop the run. So that means Mr. Bo Wallace will be forced to throw, and he has a tendency to make mistakes. Though Ole Miss has some talent at wide receivers, I just don’t have faith in Wallace. It will be close early but Bama pulls away in the second half. Alabama 28, Ole Miss 17
No. 19 Nebraska at No. 10 Michigan State: Nebraska usually plays well vs. Spartie but this is a Michigan State team that can score points and also defend. Connor Cook has been a pleasant surprise at quarterback and brings a new dynamic to Michigan State’s offense. Nebraska is one of only four NCAA teams to win 10+ games in each of the last four seasons, so they know what they are doing. The Huskers will try and establish a running game and eat clock. Spartie will overcome. State 26, Nebraska 20
