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| Wednesday, September 29 Updated: October 2, 4:47 PM ET 'Bama to contend with Florida defense By Kirk Herbstreit Special to ESPN.com |
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Alabama at Florida
Despite six turnovers last week against Arkansas, Alabama still managed to win. A big reason that the Tide finally starting throwing the ball to to complement Shaun Alexander. They had two receivers, Freddie Milons and Jason McAddley, each go over 100 yards receiving, while Alexander gained 165 yards on the ground. Their offense becomes so dangerous when they are able to spread the ball around like that. Carrying over last week's success to this week at The Swamp, where the Gators have won 27 straight since 1994, will be a tough chore for 'Bama. Florida's defense always seems to rise up in these type of games. Alex Brown will apply pressure with his speed rush on the outside, and the corners in Robert Cromartie and Bennie Alexander will be able to play man-to-man coverage, turning loose the rest of the Gator defense. BACK TO TOPKansas State at Texas
Kansas State can use the Iowa State game from a week ago as a team confidence builder. Any time a team is down 28-7, no matter who the opponent is, and can come back and win on the road, it's huge in terms of morale. The problem with Kansas State is its quarterback play. Jonathan Beasley is an athletic QB who struggled a week ago. Adam Helm came in to spark the Wildcats to victory. At some point Saturday, I would expect Helm to enter the game. He's very consistent and makes good decisions for a young player. Meanwhile, Texas is loaded offensively. Major Applewhite (nine TD passes, one interception) is spreading the ball around between Kwame Cavil, Montrell Flowers and Ryan Nunez. The Longhorns are getting good running support from Hodges Mitchell, making it a balanced attack that is difficult to defend. Plus, Kansas State is playing the Longhorns in Austin. I think Texas' offensive firepower will be challenged by the Kansas State defense, but it will come down to the play of the Texas defense forcing K-State to throw the football. That could get the Wildcats into trouble. BACK TO TOPVirginia Tech at Virginia
Virginia shocked a lot of people with the victory last week against BYU in Utah. The way BYU was playing, the Cougars had an excellent chance of continuing on its roll. What Virginia did was physically overwhlem BYU. It will be a different challenge this week against Virginia Tech's defense, one of the best in college football. It's a great physical matchup, a mano-a-mano battle in the trenches. Even though Tech is in the Big East, it's a rivalry game for the Commonwealth Cup, as big as it gets. A key will be the return of Nathaniel Williams, which will allow Tech to move John Engelberger outside to defensive end. With Engelberger and Corey Moore on the outside, they form perhaps the best defensive bookends in college football. Tech's defensive speed is as good as it gets, and I think Virginia will have a tough time moving the ball against the Hokies. I expect a close game, but in the end I think the difference will be Tech's defense creating turnovers. They may either block a punt, or the defense will force a turnover to win the game. BACK TO TOPWisconsin at Ohio State
Over the last two weeks, Wisconsin has played uncharacteristically. The Badgers have killed themselves with 16 penalties and four crucial turnovers, just making a lot of mistakes. Meanwhile, a year ago, they led the nation in turnover margin and were the least penalized team in the Big Ten. The fact they are struggling with turnovers and penalties is not a good omen going into Columbus. The Badgers are not offensively equipped to rally from a deficit by throwing the ball. Because of Ron Dayne, every Wisconsin opponent will overload the line of scrimmage to make either Scott Cavanaugh or Brooks Bollinger beat them throwing the ball. Bollinger will play more this week because of his ability to throw and scramble. He brings more of a spark to the offense. Ohio State's tackling will be key to the outcome. In the first four games the Buckeyes struggled to bring down ballcarriers. If they struggled against Miami, UCLA, Ohio, and Cincinnati, wait until Dayne runs against him. They need to wrap and tackle him. On the other side, it will be a similar scenario. Wisconsin's defense will try to take Michael Wiley's running ability away from the Buckeye offense and make sophomore QB Steve Bellisari beat the Badgers throwing the ball. Ohio State is better able to mount a passing attack with Bellisari and receivers Ken-Yon Rambo and Reggie Germany. Playing at home, Ohio State will win due to the defense's ability to take Dayne out of the game, forcing Bollinger to throw. BACK TO TOP |
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irk Herbstreit breaks downs Big Ten matchup.
