Last week my picks went 4-1, with plenty of the games sitting as blowouts instead of competitive. The good week puts me at 16-9 on the year and am here to give you some more great games. Here is what to watch in week six.
5 -(3) Oklahoma Sooners vs Iowa State Cyclones, Saturday at 9:00 am
The Sooners hit the road and try to stay perfect as the Cyclones look to bounce back from an ugly slug fest last weekend with Texas. Sooners quarterback Baker Mayfield rolls in with some impressive stats, 1,329 yards, 13 touchdowns, but none more impressive than his zero interceptions. The Sooners average 48 points per game and do not turn the ball over, which is a great way to win football games.
Prediction: Oklahoma wins 45-19
4 - (11) Washington State Cougars vs. Oregon Ducks, Saturday at 5:00 pm
After the big upset win against USC, quarterback Luke Falk and company will try to build on the stats as one of the top tier teams in college football. However, this is a massive trap game. The Ducks have been sneaky good this year with the offense putting up almost 50 points per game. But the biggest difference is the defense. Last season, Oregon gave up 41.4 points per game and ranked 126th in total defense, but this season they are only giving up 26 points per game and 20 sacks this season. Oregon will disrupt Falk and the offense while the Ducks continue to put up points even with injuries.
Prediction: Oregon wins 38-30
3 - Stanford Cardinal vs. (20) Utah Utes, Saturday at 7:15 pm
Bryce Love is the best running back in the country, already pumping out 1,088 yards in just five games, making history for the Cardinal. However, this is going to be a big game for your quarterback K.J. Costello, who has managed the games against UCLA and Arizona State well. Now the Cardinal face a team that only gives up 87 rushing yards per game, which means that Costello will need to do some things to try and loosen up this defense. Love is too good to be contained and will end up with another 160 to 200 yard game, but if Costello can throw the ball around a little, Love can start rolling faster.
Prediction: Stanford wins 31-16
2 - (23) West Virginia Mountaineers vs. (8) TCU Horned Frogs, Saturday at 12:30 pm
The Kenny Hill train scrapped off the rust, cleared the tracks and is up and running again. Hill has 965 yards and nine touchdowns, while pairing well with running back Darius Anderson’s 422 rushing yards and six touchdowns. As good as West Virginia’s Will Grier has been with 1,374 yards and 13 touchdowns, it will not be good enough. The Mountaineers give up 25.3 points per game while the Horned Frogs average 47.8 points per game.
Prediction: TCU wins 41-28
1 - (17) Louisville Cardinals vs. (24) NC State Wolfpack, Thursday at 5:00 pm
The Cardinals quarterback Lamar Jackson has 2,073 total yards and 18 total touchdowns, leading the team in passing and rushing. While the defensive front of the Wolfpack looked very good against Florida State, with 13 sacks on the year. On the other side, Jackson’s offensive line is just terrible and would have killed Jackson already if he was less mobile. This team is going to be like the Purdue game for Louisville, which is tight and needs some crazy great play from Jackson in the fourth quarter to lift them to a victory. But Jackson is good enough to do it, and there are not a lot of players not wearing Clemson orange that can stop him.
Prediction: Louisville wins 40-33
Comments
I read somewhere...
Stanford’s best receiver out. It was just a comment, and no link or name given. Any truth to this? Is is JJAW? He is the only one I can think of. I would probably say Irwin was our best receiver, but whatever.
By drkato9 on 10.06.17 10:44am
Apparently one of your beat writers said as much on a Utah radio show.
By RavenousUte on 10.06.17 12:27pm
Shaw just announced that Chryst will start
By Jeff Tarnungus on 10.06.17 12:40pm
Well...
there goes the season…
By Plan Man on 10.06.17 3:04pm
Our chances of returning from Salt Lake City
with a 3-3 record just went up.
By Jeff Tarnungus on 10.06.17 3:11pm
As the mormons would politely say...
Darn it.
By stanfordman on 10.06.17 8:03pm
Or As Rex Tillerson might............
Chime in with his view of David Shaw’s decision!
By hoyaparanoia on 10.07.17 7:39am
I've given the decision some thought and have come to the following conclusion
There are instances when a player violates a team’s code of conduct and is suspended for one or more games. If the player is very good, this weakens the team, but the suspension is nonetheless implemented as a matter of principle.
In my view, Shaw appears to be doing the same thing here: he is sticking to a principle that might actually weaken the team. But in his mind, the principle is more important than winning. Chryst should not lose his starting job just because he had a concussion. To lose the starting job, he needs to demonstrate that he cannot lead the offense. Yes, there is the argument that he already demonstrated that against SDSU and, up until his injury, against UCLA. But since he went down as the starting QB, and Shaw hadn’t yanked him yet, that is where he rejoins the active roster. I suspect Shaw will give him two series to test whether he can move the offense. If not, Costello will be reinserted. In a low-scoring affair, that may be just enough to tilt the balance in Utah’s favor. Frankly, I don’t see us leaving SLC with a win this time. There’s a lot conspiring against us (the venue, the altitude, the match-up, the QB uncertainty). Whittingham has shown that he has Shaw’s number; and only a Stanford team operating at full strength with excellent execution will get out of there with a W.
By Jeff Tarnungus on 10.07.17 9:31am