At one of the most hostile stadiums in college football there will be a showdown for the PAC-12 North title. The Cardinal from the University of Stanford will travel to Autzen Stadium to take on the speedy Ducks of Oregon. Stanford is coming off of a lopsided victory over Oregon State in which puts them one step closer to the PAC-12 Championship. The only thing standing in their way to the high-flying Ducks coming out of Eugene. Last week Oregon had a tough time in the first half against a tough Cal team, but in the end came out swinging blowing the Golden Bears by over triple their points. Led by underrated Freshman Marcus Mariota, the Ducks have been banged up lately and have had a few different players hobble off the field, but Oregon is so deep that they have been able to fill in the gaps. Stanford is going to have a tough time defending the Ducks, because it doesn’t matter who you cover they will find a way to get around you. You can crowd the line of scrimmage and prevent Mariota from running, but then Kenjon Barner will break free. You can block Barner, but then Colt Lyerla will be open for a twenty yard gain up the middle. It does not matter who you try and cover, it is near impossible to keep tabs on every player on this offense. Since the USC game Nick Aliotti has beefed up the defense and they seem to be back in shutdown mode and ready for primetime. Do I even need to mention that since Chip Kelly has taken over only three teams have come into Eugene and left with a victory? Get ready for the Ducks to bring it and be prepared for a Quack Attack on the Cardinal this weekend.

Due South is the showdown for the PAC-12 South title. The Trojans of USC will travel to the Rose Bowl to take on the Bruins. On Thursday, ESPN reported that Tommy Trojan will not be able to do is pregame routine of stabbing the sword into the logo on the 50 yard line, because UCLA says if he does the Trojan Marching Band will not be able to perform at halftime. First of all why has UCLA let this happen every other year and all of the sudden they say no can do. A little ridiculous if you ask me. Anyways, back to the action happening at noon on Saturday. USC has lost two of its last three games, but last weeks victory over Arizona State proved that Matt Barkley can still lead his team and still has a chance at the Rose Bowl Game. In rival games it usually does not matter who has the better record, it matters who plays a better game. All UCLA has to do is hand off the ball to Johnathan Franklin and they should come out with a victory. If USC can find a way to shut Franklin down they could pull away with a victory. The Trojans have to get Marquise Lee and Robert Woods involved early and often if they want that victory. This season for the Bruins was not supposed to be too good and was supposed to be more of a rebuilding year, but instead they have a shot at the Rose Bowl. The Trojans, on the other hand, were supposed to be able to walk into the National Championship and for the of a better word, “Sucked.” Still will be a great game and the uniform selection is always interesting for this game, as both teams will be wearing their home jerseys.

Top dog Kanasas State will be playing the pass happy Baylor Bears in which could pose an upset if the Bears can play an once of defense. Oklahoma travels too Morgantown as they will take on Geno Smith and Mountaineers who have stepped off the gas a bit, but look to pull a huge upset aginast the Sooners. In the Big 10, dissapoiinting Iowa will take on the Michigan Wolverines in which Denard Robinson may still be sitting out due to a concussion he suffered two weeks ago. Texas Tech has been going up and down this year and right now they are up, but after their trip to Stillwater this weekend they will be back down.

College Gameday will be in Eugene, Oregon.

Week 12 Predictions:

North Carolina 33-21 Virgina

Wake Forest 25-27 Notre Dame

North Carolina State 39-45 Clemson

Oklahoma 55-42 West Virgina

California 25-45 Oregon State

Iowa 27-37 Michigan

Texas Tech 31-33 Oklahoma State

USC 47-44 UCLA

Stanford 31-55 Oregon

Upset of the Week

Kansas State 39-41 Baylor

Saturday brought some excellent games and one in particular was in Tuscaloosa. Johnny Maziel and the Aggies walked into the home of the Crimson Tide and took down Bama. Not in a million years did I think Alabama would lose a game this year, especially this week when all they were hearing all over Sportscenter was how Johnny “Football” is going to run all over Bama’s defense. AJ McCarron had not thrown an interception all year and was on track to continue that streak. Texas A&M made him through one into double coverage in the middle of the game, but the most crucial one came when there was one minute left and he was on the goal line. After last week’s heroic victory when McCarron took his troops down in field a scored with less then a minute left to beat LSU in Death Valley, know one could have predicted that anything was going to be different this week. As the Aggie defense arose and came up with what could be the play of the year, Johnny Maziel improved his Heisman chances to become the first ever Freshman to win the prestigious award.

The Stanford Cardinal proved that they are still a  top team and still want that chance to play in the PAC-12 Championship Game. They may not get that chance, but with their win over Oregon State n Saturday they may be smelling Roses soon. Kevin Hogan’s first start in a Stanford uniform will be one he remembers for a long time. He led the Cardinal to a victory at home over the Beavers in which he threw 254 yards and three scores. Coach David Shaw was trying desperately to hold back his tears, because of how proud he was of such a hard working group of young men. Oregon State still has a battle with their cross town rival in a couple weeks and Stanford has to face that same team next week, so they better start prepping.

The University of California Golden Bears gave Oregon all they could ask for, well at least they did in the first half. Every time Oregon would score in the first half Cal would match them and going into halftime it was 24-10. Very reasonable for the Bears to try a dethrone the Ducks. Marcus Mariota injured his arm in the first half in which he had to come out. You could tell their was a shift in the Oregon sideline when their start freshman left the game as his arm was dangling by his side. One the next possession he was in and he never looked better. Oregon’s defense rose up out of the grave and held Cal to only seven points in the second half. Mariota led the Ducks to a huge victory and threw for 377 yards and tied the school record with six touchdowns. Cal did find a way to keep tabs on Kenjon Barner, but with Oregon they are so deep they always will bring out another weapon.

As Alabama lost all the teams moved up, but I found it atrocious. Kansas State was formely number two in the country and they beat unranked TCU by 13 points and they became the new number one. Oregon on the other hand was Number three and they beat down Cal by more than Tripling their points and they only moved to number two. There is no doubt in my mind that Oregon deserves the number one spot and if any Kansas State fan would like to disagreeing based on the awful display of football they put on against TCU I would love to hear it. In the last five weeks Oregon has scored more than 40 points and besides USC, in which they still won, they have absolutely dismantled teams. They deserve the number one spot and they will just have to go out and continue to pursue perfection.

Week 11 Results:

Florida State 28-22 Virgina Tech

Arizona State 17-38 USC

Iowa State 7-33 Texas

Kansas State 23-10 TCU

Mississippi State 17-37 LSU

Oregon State 23-27 Stanford

Baylor 34-42 Oklahoma

Arkansas 20-38 South Carolina

Oregon 59-17 California

Texas A&M 29-24 Alabama

BCS Rankings:

1. Kansas State

2. Oregon

3. Notre Dame

4. Alabama

5. Georgia

Heisman Watch

1. Collin Klein – QB Kansas State

2. Kenjon Barner – RB Oregon

3. AJ McCarron  – QB Alabama

This year I skipped the whole preseason prediction process and instead decided to roll right into the regular season. Last night was the official opening night of the college basketball season, and it was a dandy. Two major games, in particular did not disappoint, with one being on the national stage and one being on the international stage in Germany. And then, of course there were other games that stood out to even the most casual fans.

Here is my recap of the night in abbreviated format:

Heavyweight Thrillers

Kentucky 72, Maryland 69

The Wildcats may have a slew of fabulous freshmen, but they are a long way from last year’s squad that won the national championship. The nation’s number one recruit, Nerlens Noel, was limited in all ways, showing raw ability and potential at times, but major inexperience at others. Ryan Harrow and Alex Poythress also struggled, but it was Kyle Wiltjer and Jarrod Polson who stepped up and carried UK to the narrow victory.

Maryland has a future top-10 draft pick in big man Alex Len, who had 23 points and 12 rebounds. The Terps should probably cut down on the number of 3-pointers they shoot, as they only shot 3-19 from beyond the arc on the night. James Padgett and Nick Faust held their own, too against the talented yet undisciplined Wildcats.

Connecticut 66, Michigan State 62

The game of the night came from Germany, where the 2009 Final Four re-match dazzled and entertained our troops stationed overseas. Michigan State started the game about as poorly as possible, trailing by as many as 16 in the first half. The Spartans fought back in typical Tom Izzo fashion, crashing the offensive glass and pounding the ball inside. Michigan State appears to lack leadership without Draymond Green, instead relying on a bevy of underclassmen to lead the charge. Big men Derrick Nix and Adreian Payne are talented and will really determine how far MSU can go this season, but struggled against a sub-par UConn front court.

On the flip side, UConn’s guards, Shabazz Napier and Ryan Boatright, will dictate their success this season. Forward DeAndre Daniels is also intriguing and will generate a lot of buzz. He can undoubtedly play but he is somewhat hesitant to really play physical with his 195lbs frame.

Eyebrow-Raising Upsets

South Alabama 76, Florida State 71

It was close the whole way, but former Miami guard Antoine Allen tipped the game in the Jaguars’ favor as he made four of five 3-pointers en route to 23 points. Florida State could never get into a groove, and Michael Snaer struggled mightily, shooting 2-11 and turning the ball over five times. Terrance Shannon and Okaro White looked good for the Seminoles, but in general the team played sluggish against the upbeat Jaguars.

Bucknell 70, Purdue 65

Purdue may be rebuilding and Bucknell may contend for the Patriot League crown, but this result is still somewhat shocking. A back and forth game the whole night, it never seemed like Purdue had control, even as they held a narrow lead for most of the first half.  Bucknell forward Mike Muscala struggled at times, yet Cameron Ayers picked up the slack, scoring 6 points in 45 seconds early in the second half, shifting momentum over to the visiting team.

Showdown in Palo Alto or the battle for 2nd place, as some analysts are calling it. Oregon State and Stanford are squaring off this week in a showdown between two teams that are both trying to get prepared for their upcoming battles with Oregon. The Cardinal have had many ups this year, but then again they have had a few slip-ups as well. Stanford is coming in with the number one rushing defense in the nation, which is not a totally horrible thing for Beaver fans. Oregon State is not a big run offensive team and throws the ball almost double the amount of time. If it wasn’t for Washington barely upsetting the Beavers they would still be undefeated. With Oregon States stout run defense and Cody Vaz behind center I cant see the Cardinal pulling the upset here. Oregon State is too focused and after taking down Arizona State last week, they seem to be back on track. If you are looking for a game with an underrated quarterback tune in Saturday afternoon to watch Beaver QB Cody Vaz.

Tuscaloosa, Alabama is the sight of yet another big game involving the undefeated Crimson Tide and the one-loss Aggies of Texas A&M. Alabama could stop almost any type of run out there and they did a good job holding Zach Mettenberger back for only a few quarterback sneaks last week against LSU. Johnny Manziel, at the rip old age of 18, has led the Aggies time and time again to come from behind victories and he may have to do the same thing here. He has never played in a place like Tuscaloosa and has never played against a defense that simply hates the run as much as the Crimson Tide. Manziel has posted guatty numbers against defenses throwing the ball and running the ball. Maziel has over 2500 yards passing and is less than 100 yards from rushing over the 1000 mark for the year. Thsi game has huge implications including Texas A&M getting to a BCS bowl game in their first year as a part of the SEC. If The Aggies win, Alabama will mostly likely not be playing the BCS National Championship.

The Trojans of USC have had many troubles this year and my observation of them would have to be the most disappointing team in college football in 2012. They have lost three games out of nine that they have played against teams they should have demolished. Matt Barkley has not proved that he could lead a team to a national title game or deserve to be in the discussion for the Heisman Trophy. USC lost in Tucson two weeks ago and then got their butts handed too them last week as Oregon put up over 60 points of them. Arizona State now comes into the coliseum looking pretty beat up as well. Both of these teams could win out and still not play in the Pac-12 Championship Game. Taylor Kelly has definitely been a surprise this season for the Sun Devils, but against an a defense that was demolished last week and is going to be quite pissed off this week, I do not see Kelly doing well. This game will not be too high scoring, but will be very competitive. If Lane Kiffen still wants to be employed next year he better change something quick, because USC has lost more games in the less then three years he has been here than the entire Pete Carroll era.

Other notable games this week are Georgia traveling to Auburn to take on the Tigers and look to keep rolling as the Tigers  look for their second SEC win of the year. Mississippi State started undefeated, but has lost their last two games. They take on LSU this week and they may have to make another mark in the loss column after Saturday. Injured Collin Klein will lead the Kansas State Wildcats until Fort Worth as the Horned Frogs have upset on their minds. The high-scoring no defense Baylor Bears are in Norman this week where Landry Jones better rack up five scores and hope his defense holds up to get the victory and keep what is left of the Sooner season alive.

College Gameday is in San Diego, California on board the USS San Diego Flight Deck.

Week 10 Predictions:

Florida State 45-27 Virgina Tech

Arizona State 23-35 USC

Georgia 37-17 Auburn

Notre Dame 42-37 Boston College

Mississippi State 17-21 LSU

Oregon State 45-41 Stanford

Baylor 40-45 Oklahoma

Texas A&M 30-37 Alabama

Upset of the Week

Kansas State 28-31 TCU

Starting off with the prime time event against the Crimson Tide and the LSU Tigers. This game went back and forth and was an absolute battle between two stellar defenses. LSU had the lead with one minute left in the game in which AJ McCarron had to prove that he could lead his team to a victory on the road against a top five defense. Going 4-5 in 51 seconds down traveling 71 yards and ending with a T.J. Yeldon 28 yard score, AJ McCarron proved that he could lead his team and definitely got himself a couple votes for the Heisman Trophy as well. LSU missed a field goal with one minute left which would have put them up by six, but even that would not have mattered. AJ McCarron could possibly be the best quarterback Alabama has ever had. Before everyone starts disagreeing with me think about this. No quarterback in Crimson Tide history has ever won two National Championships. McCarron is leading his team in position to do just that.

The high-flying Oregon Ducks were in LA to take on the Trojans of USC. At this point USC knows that they will not be in a National Championship, but this game could help their chances quite a bit. Oregon got off to an early lead, but USC kept up with their speed and ended up scoring over 50 points on a defense that topped the PAC-12. The Trojans just could not contain Kenjon Barner as he ran for 321 yards and five touchdowns. Marcus Mariotta also through for four scores and helped lead the Ducks at the ripe old age of 18 to a victory in the Coliseum. With this victory the BCS system finally woke up a little a realized that Oregon deserves to be higher and they moved into third behind Alabama and Kansas State.

In South Bend Pittsburgh gave Notre Dame all they could handle. I am absolutely sick that people think Notre Dame could compete in a National Championship against any of the top three teams when they could barely escape unranked Pittsburgh at home. The Panthers could have won the game with a field goal that barely missed in the second overtime. You can only give a team so many chances to win before they take advantage of it. Notre Dame has great players, don’t get me wrong, but against any of the top three teams they would be destroyed. Notre feel to the number four spot with this victory and considering they do not belong to an actual conference they do not get to play in a championship game so they will have to hope that they win out and two of the top three teams fall in the next three weeks.

The Longhorns took down the Red Raiders in Lubbock giving Texas their Third straight win since the beat down against the Sooners. Despite Heisman Hopeful Collin Klein being injured during the game, Kansas State took care of the Cowboys. Texas A&M hands Mississippi State the second straight loss as they prep for the showdown against the Crimson Tide next weekend.

Week 10 Results:

Virgina Tech 12-20 Miami

TCU 39-38 West Virgina

Nebraska 28-24 Michigan State

Texas A&M 38-13 Mississippi State

Arizona State 26-36 Oregon State

Arizona 10-66 UCLA

Pittsburgh 26-29 Notre Dame

Oklahoma State 30-44 Kansas State

Texas 31-22 Texas Tech

Oregon 62-51 USC

Alabama 21-17 LSU

BCS Rankings:

1. Alabama

2. Kansas State

3. Oregon

4. Notre Dame

5. Georgia

Heisman Watch

1. Collin Klein – Quarterback Kansas State

2. Kenjon Barner – Runningback Oregon

3. AJ McCarron – Quarterback Alabama

Leaving Lane Stadium and traveling elsewhere has been miserable for Frank Beamer and the Hokies. Virginia Tech is looking for its first road win of the season, which seems like a daunting task considering this is undoubtedly the biggest game of the season. But if history has taught us anything- the Hokies are 25-2 in ACC-play in November (thanks, Andy Bitter)- we may not see the same team that lost at Pittsburgh, Cincy (at FedEx), UNC, and Clemson.

It’s simple: the winner of this game has the inside track to the ACC Coastal Division title. Here are some things/statistics to look out for during the contest:

1. Hokies rushing yards

Miami is currently dead-last in the ACC in the following categories: scoring defense (32.4), total defense (499.1 yards), and rushing defense (249.2 yards). The Miami pass defense (sixth) isn’t a pushover, so the Hokies will have to beat the ‘Canes on the ground. Virginia Tech averages 157 yards rushing per game; if the Hokies are to win the game, you’ll need to see at least 200 yards on the ground.

2. Defensive personnel

After facing strictly spread offenses the previous four games, Bud Foster’s defense will face four teams that run some version of the pro style. That means that tonight will likely be the first game Ronny Vandyke sees significant time at the whip spot. Expect to see the nickel package as well with Michael Cole, especially if the Hokies build a lead.

3. Miami’s passing attack vs. Tech’s secondary

The Hurricanes boast the conference’s fourth-best aerial attack with 288 yards per game, and the Hokies have the second-best pass defense at 203 yards. Not much else needs to be said- whoever wins this battle will likely win the game.

PREDICTION

The Hokies rushing attack gets going, allowing Logan Thomas to finally utilize play-action passing as a weapon. Although it’s a close game throughout, Bud Foster’s revamped defense makes just enough plays to win, and cover the 1.5-point spread.

Hokies 31 Miami 23