This will be a brief look with predictions on the upcoming games this weekend.
UCF (0-1) @ (20) Missouri (2-0)
Had this game been played last season, it would have been an epic showdown. It will still be a good game, no doubt, so here are the pointers to watch for in this game.
KEYS OF THE GAME
Missouri- The defense has to be better. They have allowed 386.5 yards per game the past 2 games against less then average opponents such as South Dakota State and Toledo. They have got to buckle down, and hold UCF down flat. Maty Mauk needs to continue making the the offense run smoothly, he's up to a 186.1 passer rating, 503 yards passing, with 8 TD's and 2 INTs. Take advantage of Terrance Plummers foot injury, and run the ball right at him. Missouri currently averages 196 yards per game rushing, UCF allowed 57 versus James Franklin and his Penn State Nittany Lions in Dublin 2 weeks ago. Pass the ball over them, Christian Hackenburg threw for 457 yards against this defense. Mauk can take advantage of that with his senior receivers.
UCF- Pass Defense, pass defense and PASS DEFENSE! 457 yards is a lot of ground, and 511 total yards is plain bad. They need to establish a run game offensively, Dontravious Wilson took 21 carries 45 yards 2 weeks ago in Dublin, and the run game lost yards behind him. Passing game, they have some decent receivers. Use them!
FAST STATS
Missouri
-DE's Markus Golden and Shane Ray both have 3 sacks each this season through the first 2 games.
-SS Aarion Penton leads the team with 2 INT's, returned for 38 yards.
UCF
-Despite allowing 457 yards passing against Penn State, both UCF corners Jacoby Glenn and Jordan Ozerites have an INT each.
PREDICTION
Missouri 38 UCF 20
Massachusetts (0-2) @ Vanderbilt (0-2)
Vanderbilt and UMass are 0-2, however, Vanderbilt has scored a total of 10 points this season, UMass has 45.
KEYS OF THE GAME
Vanderbilt- The offense has done nothing but struggle. Stephen Rivers, little brother of Philip Rivers, has struggled, both against Temple and against Ole Miss. So far, he's completed 36% of his passes, and gotten a total of 246 yards passing, no TD's and 2 INT's. Jerron Seymour, the teams leading running back, is questionable for Saturday's action. So far, he has yet to play in a Vandy game. Defense needs to be much better. They've allowed 449 yards per game, and a total of 78 points in 2 games. The turnover margin is -5, and they've gotten a total of 5 sacks. Lots of work required from Derek Mason to make this team work.
Massachusetts- Massachusetts enters their 3rd year in FBS ranks, with a new coach to guide them through, and possibly the worst team in college football. S D'Metrius Williams was dismissed from the team for undisclosed reasons before the season started, and OLB Trey Seals, another starter, is questionable. If UMass wants to stay in the game, they have to generate better pressure defensively. So far this season, they only have 2 sacks, and that needs to get better. Next, run the ball. Vanderbilt has given up 162 yards rushing per game, and UMass has 2 RB's, Jamal Wilson and JT Blyden, who can handle the load and get some good plays against the Commodores.
FAST STATS
Vanderbilt
-Ralph Webb has handled rushing duties so far, he is a redshirt freshman from Gainseville, Florida. He has 32 carries for 165 yards so far this season.
-Vandy's only TD was on a blocked punt against Temple.
Massachusetts
-Junior WR Tajae Sharpe leads the team in receiving, featuring 7 catches for 173 yards and a TD, plus 2 runs for 17 yards.
-Junior Cornerback Randall Jette leads the team with the only 2 INT's the team has picked off this season, returned for 49 yards.
PREDICTION
Massachusetts 26 Vanderbilt 24
(6) Georgia (1-0) @ (24) South Carolina (1-1)
South Carolina had won 19 straight home games, but Texas A&M already snapped that streak, and now a better Georgia team visits Columbia, South Carolina. This is the Game of the Week in the SEC.
KEYS TO THE GAME
South Carolina- Want to talk about struggle? After getting blown out by Texas A&M at home, 52-28, and then struggle against East Carolina, and win 33-23, questions surround Dylan Thompson and Steve Spurrier. Starters Mike Matulis, RG, and nickleback Jamari Smith are both out, Smith for the season, Matulis, we don't know how long. For South Carolina to stay alive, they need to run the ball. Mike Davis is one of the best Running Backs in the nation, and possibly the best in the SEC. So far, he has gotten a total of 24 carries for 116 yards and 2 TDs. Get him the ball a lot more often. Dylan Thompson has a large committee of receivers to use, he has to do a better job on checkdowns and getting the ball to them. As of now, he's completed 57% of his passes. The worst part of this team is pass defense. So far, they have one sack, and just 2 INTs. That needs to improve dramatically. Yes, the defense has allowed an average of 566 yards per game. If South Carolina wants to stay alive with Georgia, they need to step up on defense.
Georgia- What more can they do? Todd Gurley would be the man you would make a case against Mike Davis being the best back in the league, and he has the stats in one game up in Clemson to back him up. Gurley has 15 carries for 198 yards and 3 TDs, plus his 100 yard KR TD. Hutson Mason completed 18 of 26 passes for 131 yards against Clemson, and the defense registered 5 sacks, 2 each to OLB Leonard Floyd and ILB Amarlio Wilson. For Georgia to win, just run the ball all over the South Carolina defense, then hit them with a powerful pass play, and Georgia is going to rack up 50+ points.
KEY STATS
South Carolina
-Dylan Thompson has passed for 632 yards so far, with 5 TDs and 2 INTs, and an efficiency rating of 141.8.
Georgia
-Georgia's starting Linebackers have combined for 32 tackles and 4 sacks.
-Against Clemson, Georgia gained 328 yards rushing, and 459 yards of total offense.
PREDICTION
Georgia 49 South Carolina 38
Arkansas (1-1) @ Texas Tech (2-0)
Arkansas is coming red hot off of a 73-7 win over Nicholls State, a game which resulted in 684 yards of total offense, 495 of those coming off of 40 carries by the Arkansas running back committee. Texas Tech, however, comes off a tough and close 30-26 win in Texas El-Paso.
KEYS TO THE GAME
Texas Tech- Texas Tech is a highly explosive offense with a poor defense, and that's why they struggle. Offensively, they have Davis Webb, a sophomore QB in his 2nd season as a starter, who has 730 yards passing and a 7-2 TD-INT ratio. Webb compares to a Alex Smith with a bigger arm, due to his able legs. He moves around, and so far, has scrambled 4 times for 18 yards. Then the running backs, Texas Tech has 2 right now with over 150 yards rushing. Deandre Washington and the true freshman Justin Stockton, the teams biggest recruit, offer a strong run attack. Washington is a grinder averaging 5.1 yards per carry, Stockton only has 14 carries for 175 yards, very strong long gain blaster. Senior WR Bradley Marquez leads the team in receiving, 14 catches for 217 yards and a team high 5 TDs. He's having a big year. Defensively, they have yet to take the ball away, and that is a weakness Arkansas will look to exploit.
Arkansas- With 2 strong RB's now with over 175 yards, and QB Brandon Allen, Arkansas is becoming a force to be reckoned with. Alex Collins and Johnathan Williams, both returning leaders with over 900 yards each last season, are the biggest threat to this team. Collins and Williams have now combined for 376 yards and 5 TD's rushing. The big turnoff from the passing game are the receivers. Arkansas is missing the key receivers they need, and that limits Allen to keeping the ball on the ground. Defensively, they gave up 45 points to Auburn through 4 quarters, so against a high profile offense, they're going to struggle. However, they do have 8 sacks now, sophomore DT Taiwan Johnson leading the team with 4, the other DT, Darius Philon, has 2.
KEY STATS
Texas Tech
- Texas Tech has 9 players with 10 or more tackles this season, 3 of them are backup players. While not the most talented, they have depth.
- Kliff Kingsbury faces his first SEC opponent in his career as a head coach. However, last week 3, he faces a #24 ranked TCU as the underdog, Texas Tech won by 10.
Arkansas
-The turnover margin is 0. The offense, even against Auburn, has given up one turnover per game, and the defense has taken it back.
-648 yards of total rushing, 1012 yards of total offense. Against Auburn, this offense gained 328 yards, and still managed to gain 5.3 yards per running carry.
PREDICTION
Arkansas 49 Texas Tech 42
The next games are simply predicted...
Ole Miss 38 Louisiana-Lafeyette 13
Mississippi State 45 South Alabama 24
Alabama 42 Southern Mississippi 7
Florida 34 Kentucky 20
Oklahoma 35 Tennessee 28
Pre Game Analysis coming for the other 5 games!
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