 |
|
| Wednesday, October 14 Updated: October 15, 2:22 PM ET Herbstreit's viewer's guide By Kirk Herbstreit Special to ESPN.com |
||||||
|
Saturday It's very simple. Texas Tech will try to run the ball with Ricky Williams, whom they have relied upon all year long. The Red Raiders get into trouble on offense when teams take away their running game and force them to pass. Colorado's run defense is No. 6 overall in the nation in large part because they have two great cover cornerbacks, which allows the Buffaloes to move around and do a lot of things defensively. I think you will see Colorado put cornerbacks Ben Kelly and Damen Wheeler in straight-up man coverage on the Tech wide receivers, putting everyone else at the line of scrimmage to stop Williams. Colorado will force the Tech's quarterback Rob Peters to win the game. The story for Colorado's offense has been health. Potentially, five starters will be out for this weekend's game. When a team loses its starting tailback, fullback, linemen and a wide receiver like Cedric Cormier, it makes it really tough to try and win the game with offense. The way Colorado wins this game is defense, field position and creating turnovers. Last week the Buffaloes created three turnovers in a close loss to Kansas Sate. That will be the key to what should be a great game.
Oregon at UCLA, 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC Oregon is not Johnny-come-lately. The Ducks have been doing this for a long time. They lead the Pac-10 in wins going back to 1994. But this year, Akili Smith is much more of a total package at quarterback. He has made good decisions and shown great maturity not to mention he has all the physical tools in the world. But what makes Oregon's offense go is the fact the Ducks can run the ball as well. Saladin McCullough exhausted his eligibility, and a lot of people thought Oregon was in trouble. But junior college transfer Reuben Droughns has been unbelievable. He leads the nation with 7.5 yards per carry, and he has rushed for more than 200 yards in three of the four games he has played this year. Oregon is getting it done with a good balanced attack. Up to this point, the Ducks haven't been tested like they will be at UCLA, but the Oregon offense is for real. UCLA has the most sophisticated passing attack in college football. The West Coast offense is an overused cliché, but the Bruins play that offense in a true sense. They put five receivers out in a set, and quarterback Cade McNown has as much savvy and instinct as any quarterback in the country. But the Bruin offense has been tough to stop because of the way the team is running the football. UCLA rushed for over 300 yards last week against Arizona, and it must have a balanced attack to make McNown and the passing attack that much stronger. On paper, this looks like an offensive showdown with both teams among the nation's leaders in offense. But as the game goes it's going to be a question of whose defense will step up to win the game. An opportunistic Bruins defense and an overall edge in experience and talent will be too much for Oregon. I see a close game with UCLA pulling away late.
Virginia at Georgia Tech, 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC Virginia's defense is No. 10 in the nation, and the Cavaliers' key will be shutting down Georgia Tech quarterback Joey Hamilton. That will require taking chances with blitzes, leaving man-to-man coverage on the outside. Like Oregon's Akili Smith, Hamilton has really matured this year. He has always been athletic and always been able to improvise, but this year he is more polished, sitting in the pocket and scrambling only when he needs to. In the, past he hasn't done that. Hamilton's patience against the Cavs defense will be key, as will turnovers. Last week, I don't know how many people gave the Yellow Jackets a chance to go into a tough situation and win at North Carolina State. That victory gives Georgia Tech a lot of confidence. I like Georgia Tech in this game because not only are the Yellow Jackets playing at home, but look at their defense. Through five games, the Yellow Jackets are averaging a plus-2 turnover margin per game. They are third in the nation in that category, and they have scored a defensive touchdown in each of the past four games. Some teams are happy to score two in an entire season, and the Yellow Jackets defense has scored in four consecutive games. I see the Georgia Tech winning this game by creating turnovers and forcing Virginia quarterback Aaron Brooks to throw the ball into coverage.
Kentucky at LSU, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN2 This is a head game for Kentucky. The Wildcats have to regroup after a couple of tough losses over the past few weeks. The game against Arkansas is a game Kentucky players felt they could have one, and now they find themselves playing against a top-notch SEC opponent on the heels of a sub-par performance against South Carolina. Kentucky needs to push forward. This is a game the Wildcats are very capable of winning because of the way they throw the football. LSU plays a bend-but-don't-break, old-school zone defense where the Tigers like to keep everything in front of them and prevent the big play. Kentucky historians will tell you that over the past two seasons, that defense spells trouble. Earlier this season, Indiana did a good job of keeping everything in front of the defenders and it slowed down Tim Couch. Arkansas did a pretty good job as well. A defense gets into trouble when it plays man-to-man coverage against Kentucky. There are a lot of teams that have paid the price for that this year. I'm not a big fan of LSU's zone defense, but in this case it might be the best style of defense to slow down Kentucky. On the other side of the ball, Kentucky's defense has neither the depth nor the speed to slow down Herb Tyler and Kevin Faulk and Co. The team that shows up with a better attitude will win the football game. Both teams have had some things go against them the past few weeks, and now it's a matter of who is still hungry. Whichever team wants to go out and compete wins the football game. |
|
|||||
