Capital One Bowl: #7 Georgia Bulldogs vs #16 Nebraska Cornhuskers Preview

On January 1st the #7 ranked Georgia Bulldogs match up against the #16 ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers. Georgia’s previous meeting with a Big Ten opponent resulted in a 33-30 loss in last year’s Outback Bowl against Michigan St. This year Georgia goes up against a completely different team lead by the dual threat quarterback in Taylor Martinez.

In past years, Taylor Martinez was heavily criticized on his throwing ability, it was rumored that in the
off season he flew to California to work with a quarterback guru. It must have worked because the first
two games of the 2012 season Martinez threw for over 300 yards. Flashes of Martinez’s old throwing habits started to show once entering Big Ten play. Martinez threw for less than 150 yards and had a completion rate below 50% against some of the better defenses in Big Ten including Northwestern, Michigan State, Penn State, Iowa, Ohio State, and of course Michigan.

The Georgia defense lead by USC transfer Jarvis Jones will be eager to prove the rumors false. Georgia’s secondary is one of the best in the nation, only allowing two teams to pass for more than 250 yards. It seems as if they will be able to handle the passing attack from Nebraska; but unfortunately for Georgia, Martinez is a dual threat quarterback – meaning he can hurt you with his feet as well. In the 2012 season Georgia hasn’t encountered quarterback like Martinez. The closest comparison Georgia has seen is from their in-state rival Georgia Tech, whose offense consists of mainly options and involving very little throwing.

Even though Georgia’s defense has yet to see a quarterback like Martinez, their defense is ranked 17th overall in the nation. The Bulldog defense has the upper hand and in order for Nebraska to assert an offensive presence they must establish the run. The most important player for Cornhuskers in this game is not Martinez, instead it’s Ameer Abdullah. Nebraska is ranked 8th in the nation in rushing, and Ameer is the main contributor with 1089 yards in the season. If Ameer is able to effectively move the ball, then it will force the Georgia defense to cheat the safety into the box, allowing for other players like Kenny Bell and Quincy Enunwa to make some key plays in the passing game.

The Nebraska defense will have their hand full with Aaron Murray and the Georgia Bulldogs. Georgia’s offense is ranked 19th in the nation and scores on average 37.2 points in a game. Luckily for Nebraska, their pass defense isn’t their weak spot. Only three teams have passed for over 200 yards. The problem with the Cornhusker defense is they cannot stop anybody from running the ball. In the 2012 season the defense gave up over 200 yards in 9 out of the 12 teams they played. Wisconsin truly exposed the soft spot in Nebraska’s defense by rushing for an astonishing 524 yards in the Big Ten Championship game. If I was the coach I would not even bring receivers on the field. Instead I’d beef up on extra lineman and pound the ball every play. The simple key to success for the Georgia Bulldog offense can be summed up in three words – Run the Ball.

- Troy Woolfolk

@twoolf29

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

We here at Project College Football would like to wish you and your's a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and safe New Year.

We will be back soon with previews of bowl games, as well as articles about such things as rivalry games, legendary players, and more.

Thank you for reading, and we look forward to entertaining you throughout 2013 and many years to come!

- Project CFB Staff

2012 Project College Football Awards

After much consideration, watching clips, looking at stats, and our team voting for who they thought deserved each award, we are pleased to announce the Project College Football Awards!

We will recognize these athletes as award winners for this year, and obviously throughout their careers in college football. We also plan on having a page on our website that will list all of our award winners from this year on.

Congratulations to these award winners.

Tebow-Dorsey Award
(Quarterback of the Year)
Winner: Johnny Manziel (Texas A&M)

Williams-Peterson Award
(Running Back of the Year)
Winner: Montee Ball (Wisconsin)

Edwards-Fitzgerald Award
(Wide Receiver of the Year)
Winner: Marqise Lee (USC)

Woodson-Laurinaitis Award
(Defensive Player of the Year)
Winner: Manti Te'o (Notre Dame)

Nugent-Janikowski Award
(Kicker of the Year)
Winner: Dustin Hopkins (Florida State)

Mesko-Sepulveda Award
(Punter of the Year)
Winner: Justin DuVernois (Illinois)

Yost-Bryant Award
(Coach of the Year)
Winner: Bill O'Brien (Penn State)

Freshman of the Year Award
(This award will be named after it's winner this season)
Winner: QB-Johnny Manziel (Texas A&M)

And last but not least, our version of the Heisman Trophy. The Award that we will call the Project College Football Best of the Best Award

Project CFB Best of the Best Award
(Most Outstanding Player of the Year)
Winner: QB-Johnny Manziel (Texas A&M)

Congratulations to all these outstanding athletes! We look forward to handing out more awards next season!

Army Black Knights vs Navy Midshipmen Preview

Today at 3:00, arguably the best rivalry game in college football (or all of sports, depending on who you ask), will be played in Philadelphia, PA. The Army Black Knights vs the Navy Midshipmen. Army's record this season is a very disappointing 2-9 while Navy this season has went 7-4.

This rivalry game originated in 1890, and has been an annual ritual since 1930. Army had been the winner of the feud until 2004 when Navy tied the series record up. Since 2002 Navy has won every game they've played against Army, now winning the overall record 58-49-7. Last season Navy defeated Army by six points, 27-21.

Although Army is only 2-9, surprisingly they are ranked number one in the nation for most rushing yards per game, with an average of 369.8. They will look to use that ground game to surprise Navy, and break that 10 game winning streak.

QB Trent Steelman is Army's leading rusher this season.

Navy isn't bad with rushing either. They're ranked sixth in the nation with an average of 285.5 rushing yards per game. It looks like it's going to be quite the rushing game this afternoon.

Army is led by senior quarterback Trent Steelman. Steelman only has 619 yards passing, with one throwing touchdown and two interceptions. Not the best stats for a QB. But, the senior has 1,152 rushing yards and 16 rushing touchdowns. Impressive for a player on a team that is only 2-9.

Meanwhile, Navy is led by freshman quarterback Keenan Reynolds, who has 754 yards passing, with eight touchdowns and only one interception. He also has 585 rushing yards and has recorded nine rushing touchdowns.

Although both QBs have been impressive on the ground, both teams have capable running backs as well. Army has junior running back Raymond Maples, who has over 1,000 yards rushing and two touchdowns, and sophomore running back Larry Dixon, who has 778 yards rushing and punched the ball into the endzone six times.

Navy QB Keenane Reynolds has passed and rushed for a
combined 17 touchdowns this year.

Navy also has a duo of impressive rushers. Senior running back Gee Gee Greene, who has recorded 750 rushing yards and three touchdowns, as well as sophomore fullback Noah Copeland, who has 592 rushing yards and four touchdowns.

I have always said that with rivalry games, you can throw all records out the window. Especially depending on how much animosity the two teams have toward each other, whether the teams are batting at .500, or undefeated, these types of rivalry games can go one way or the other.

In most games defense is the key in one way or the other. It's going to be a huge factor here today. With both teams being very impressive with their rushing games, I'd think it's safe to say that whoever can shut down the other's rushing game is going to walk away with the victory in Philadelphia. Although Navy has a much better record than Army, I think Trent Steelman and the rest of the Black Knights are going to be hungry to take the Midshipmen down for the first time in a decade.

The game will be broadcast at 3:00 PM ET on CBS. With this being the last regular season game this year, and a huge rivalry game, with two teams very capable of putting up impressive rushing stats, I'd label this game as a must see.

- Matt Lytle

@mattlytle

Thank You for Reading

We would like to thank everyone for their interest in Project College Football. We strive to bring you not only breaking news (mostly on our Twitter), but also entertaining, accurate and unbiased previews and articles about our favorite sport, college football.

It has been a pleasure to write multiple times a week for all of you. We did not anticipate the support and following that we have received, and are very happy with it.

We have had a few of you tweet and e-mail us about donations. We will do everything we can to always give you all of our previews, news and articles for absolutely free. We also want to eventually put all of this into print, and GIVE the "newsletters" to many sporting stores (as well as other stores) for absolutely FREE!

If you do feel like donating to us, we would be very appreciative as it will only help to continue keeping the site free. If you feel the need to donate, you can e-mail us at projectcfb@yahoo.com for details. If you do not want to donate, no worries at all. Continue reading and hopefully enjoying our content, and always remember to leave comments on how we're doing.

Thank you all for reading. We look forward to continuing to entertain you.

2012-2013 College Football Bowl Schedule

Here is the 2012-2013 College Football Bowl Schedule. Check it out and get ready for these exciting bowl games!

(Games are listed in order of when they will air.)

Gildan New Mexico Bowl
Arizona vs Nevada
Saturday, December 15 | 1:00 PM ET

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
Toledo vs Utah State
Saturday, December 15 | 4:30 PM ET

San Diego County CU Poinsettia Bowl
BYU vs San Diego State
Thursday, December 20 | 8:00 PM ET

Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl
Ball State vs UCF
Friday, December 21 | 7:30 PM ET

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
East Carolina vs UL Lafayette
Saturday, December 22 | 12:00 PM ET

MAACO Bowl Las Vegas
Boise State vs Washington
Saturday, December 22 | 3:30 PM ET

Sheraton Hawaii Bowl
Fresno State vs SMU
Monday, December 24 | 8:00 PM ET

Little Caesars Pizza Bowl
Central Michigan vs Western Kentucky
Wednesday, December 26 | 7:30 PM ET

Military Bowl
Bowling Green vs San Jose State
Thursday, December 27 | 3:00 PM ET

Belk Bowl
Cincinnati vs Duke
Thursday, December 27 | 6:30 PM ET

Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl
Baylor vs UCLA
Thursday, December 27 | 9:45 PM ET

AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl
Ohio vs ULM
Friday, December 28 | 2:00 PM ET

Russell Athletic Bowl
Rutgers vs Virginia Tech
Friday, December 28 | 5:30 PM ET

Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas
Minnesota vs Texas Tech
Friday, December 28 | 9:00 PM ET

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl
Air Force vs Rice
Saturday, December 29 | 11:45 AM ET

New Era Pinstripe Bowl
Syracuse vs West Virginia
Saturday, December 29 | 3:15 PM ET

Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl
Arizona State vs Navy
Saturday, December 29 | 4:00 PM ET

Valero Alamo Bowl
Oregon State vs Texas
Saturday, December 29 | 6:45 PM ET

Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl
Michigan State vs TCU
Saturday, December 29 | 10:15 PM ET

Franklin Amer. Mort. Music City Bowl
NC State vs Vanderbilt
Monday, December 31 | 12:00 PM ET

Hyundai Sun Bowl
Georgia Tech vs USC
Monday, December 31 | 2:00 PM ET

AutoZone Liberty Bowl
Iowa State vs Tulsa
Monday, December 31 | 3:30 PM ET

Chick-fil-A Bowl
Clemson vs LSU
Monday, December 31 | 7:30 PM ET

Heart of Dallas Bowl
Purdue vs Oklahoma State
Tuesday, January 1 | 12:00 PM ET

TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl
Mississippi State vs Northwestern
Tuesday, January 1 | 12:00 PM ET

Capital One Bowl
Georgia vs Nebraska
Tuesday, January 1 | 1:00 PM ET

Outback Bowl
Michigan vs South Carolina
Tuesday, January 1 | 1:00 PM ET

Rose Bowl
Stanford vs Wisconsin
Tuesday, January 1 | 5:00 PM ET

Discover Orange Bowl
Florida State vs Northern Illinois
Tuesday, January 1 | 8:30 PM ET

Allstate Sugar Bowl
Florida vs Louisville
Wednesday, January 2 | 8:30 PM ET

Tostitos Fiesta Bowl
Kansas State vs Oregon
Thursday, January 3 | 8:30 PM ET

AT&T Cotton Bowl
Oklahoma vs Texas A&M
Friday, January 4 | 8:00 PM ET

BBVA Compass Bowl
Ole Miss vs Pittsburgh
Saturday, January 5 | 1:00 PM ET

GoDaddy.com Bowl
Arkansas State vs Kent State
Sunday, January 6 | 9:00 PM ET

BCS National Championship Game
Alabama vs Notre Dame
Monday, January 7 | 8:30 PM ET

Who I Think Should Play in the National Championship Game by: Jackson McNamara

As you all know, the #1 ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish will play the #2 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide in the National Championship Game on January 7th. Although the rankings are #1 and #2, and obviously the #1 and #2 ranked teams should play in the National Championship, I feel like this isn't the matchup that most of us college football fans would like to see.

I know that some people may not like my opinions, but hey, it's just an opinion. Obviously my two cents, are exactly that. The National Championship on January 7th will be what it will be, and whether I'm right or not, will not matter one bit.

But you're here reading this, so I assume I haven't lost your interest yet.

The Crimson Tide have been incredible this year. Their only loss being to Texas A&M (led by Mr. Johnny Football!) 29-24. A very good game that could have went either way. I do think that Alabama belongs in the National Championship. With AJ McCarron leading the offensive attack. With Eddie Lacy and TJ Yeldon in the backfield. And with Amari Cooper, Kenny Bell and Kevin Norwood spreading defenses thin, Nick Sabin's Crimson Tide should be in the National Championship Game.

Now, as far as Notre Dame goes. I feel they are a good team. They did beat Michigan, Michigan State, Stanford, and Oklahoma. However, I feel if their schedule was a little tougher, they very well could have tasted defeat. Yes their defense is ranked #1 at points allowed, only giving up 10.3 per game. And yes, Manti Te'o is a phenomenal defensive player. But I don't feel Notre Dame should be in the National Championship.

The team I feel deserves to play Alabama, is the Oregon Ducks. With their high-tempo, aggressive offense that is averaging 50.8 points per game, I feel this is the best matchup for the Crimson Tide. The Ducks are led by freshman QB Marcus Mariota. They have weapons such as Kenjon Barner, De'Anthony Thomas, Josh Huff and Colt Lyerla. To see this Ducks offense take on the Crimson Tide defense to me would be a great matchup, and would most likely be a lot of fun for us fans.

Notre Dame's defense is ranked higher than Alabama's by a very small margin, but I feel if Notre Dame had to face more offenses like the Oregon Ducks, they wouldn't be able to keep up. Honestly, I'm not sure if Alabama's defense could keep up with the Ducks offense, but I think their defense would be the one to be able to put a muzzle on the Ducks.

Saturday, January 7th, we will not see Alabama take on Oregon. And that's fine. Rankings are rankings, and the way everything went down this season we will see the Fighting Irish take on the Crimson Tide. I'm sure it'll be a great matchup. I just feel like the matchup that I came up with would have been more entertaining.

Remember, this was just my opinion. If you disagree, that's fine. I did not write this to offense Notre Dame, or any other sports team fans. I just wanted to air my opinion. Thank you for reading. I hope I don't lose one of my 12 followers for this.

- Jackson McNamara

@jacksonmcnamara

Welcome Troy Woolfolk to the Project CFB Team

We would like to officially welcome former Michigan Wolverine Troy Woolfolk to the Project College Football Team.

Woolfolk played defensive back for the University of Michigan from 2007-2011. Being coached by Lloyd Carr, Rich Rodriguez and Brady Hoke, Woolfolk saw all kinds of ups and downs in Ann Arbor.

In 2010, prior to the beginning of the season, Woolfolk broke his leg in practice. He was red-shirted the 2010 season, and got to come back for one more year with the Wolverines, also being able to enjoy a victory over Notre Dame and Ohio State, as well as a Sugar Bowl victory over Virginia Tech.

Troy will be able to bring a unique perspective into college football here at Project College Football. We are very excited to be adding him to our team.

Be sure to follow Troy on Twitter @TWoolf29

SEC Championship: #2 Alabama vs #3 Georgia Preview

There are so many storylines in this year's SEC Championship Game. There was a joke on Twitter about how they should rename the SEC Championship Game the "National Championship Qualifier". For quite a while, that has been the case. And the same can be said about this year. The #2 Alabama Crimson Tide and the #3 Georgia Bulldogs are both 11-1, with a 7-1 record in the SEC.

However, the storylines don't stop at whoever wins will most likely play Notre Dame in the National Championship. We have two Heisman hopeful quarterbacks in AJ McCarron and Aaron Murray competing against each other. We have dominant running back Eddie Lacy against impressive running back Todd Gurley.

The Crimson Tide is led by junior quarterback AJ McCarron. McCarron has had Heisman hope with him all season. He is 178/265, has thrown for 2,507 yards for 25 touchdowns, and only two interceptions. A rather impressive touchdown to interception ratio.
The Bulldogs are led by junior quarterback Aaron Murray, who has also received much Heisman hype. He is 213/320, and has thrown for more yards than McCarron with a total of 3,201 yards. He has thrown 30 touchdowns and only seven interceptions.

But the offense of both teams don't end there. In fact, it's just getting started...

Alabama has two rather impressive running backs. Junior Eddie Lacy is their leading rusher, just eclipsing the 1,000 yard mark. He has also punched the ball into the endzone 14 times. Lacy's backup, freshman TJ Yeldon has 847 yards to his name, and 10 touchdowns. Both players will look to add onto those totals, and put a stomping on the Bulldogs.

 Georgia also has an impressive duo. Freshman Todd Gurley, who has carried the ball 176 times for 1,138 yards and 14 touchdowns. As well as fellow freshman Keith Marshall, who has carried the ball over 100 times for 720 yards and eight touchdowns.

Alabama is averaging 214 rushing yards per game while Georgia isn't too far behind, averaging 190. On paper, these teams look very similar. I guess that could be why they're ranked #2 and #3.

Both teams have a few wide receivers who have impressive numbers as well. Alabama is equip with Amari Cooper, Kenny Bell and Kevin Norwood. Cooper leads in receiving yards, with 767. He also leads in receiving touchdowns with eight. Bell has reeled in 3 touchdowns while Norwood has caught four.

The Bulldogs have Tavarres King, Malcolm Mitchell and Marlon Brown. King leads the group with 704 yards and eight touchdowns. Mitchell has over 500 yards receiving and four touchdowns, while Brown has nearly 500 yards receiving, and also four touchdowns.

Describing the offenses, it looks as if we're in for a high-scoring offensive affair. But as Lee Corso would say, "not so fast my friend!".

Alabama's defense is ranked #1 in the nation for points allowed. Bama allows an average of 9.3 points per game. If you look through their schedule it's amazing how little most teams can score on this defense. Texas A&M is the only team to score more than 17 points on the Crimson Tide, scoring 29 and actually defeating Alabama.

Georgia's defense isn't as tough, but still isn't giving many points up. They are ranked 16th for points allowed, only allowing an average of 17.7. Compared to Alabama's average you can see a difference, but not by much. The Bulldogs only loss comes from South Carolina, who put 35 up on the scoreboard. Although Georgia has given up 44 points to Tennessee, 24 points to Kentucky and 23 points to Buffalo, all teams who aren't known as very impressive teams this season.
If I had to put my money on whether it will be an offensive or defensive game, I'd put it on the game being defensive. And I'd be cautiously optimistic that I'd win the bet. But with these two offenses I'm just not sure. I honestly wouldn't be surprised to see anything happen out there Saturday afternoon.
The game will be broadcast on CBS this Saturday afternoon at 4:00 PM ET. Clear your schedule, because we are in for quite a game. And the winner of this game will most likely go on to the National Championship Game and give Notre Dame a run for it's money.

- Matt Lytle

@mattlytle

ACC Championship: #12 Florida State vs Georgia Tech Preview

Saturday night at 8:00 PM ET, the #13 ranked Florida State Seminoles will take on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the ACC Championship game. The Seminoles have an overall record of 10-2, only losing to NC State earlier in the year, and losing last week to the Florida Gators. The Yellow Jackets however are sitting at .500 with a record of 6-6.

The Yellow Jackets are led by a very impressive quarterback by the name of Tevin Washington. Washington is 68/114. He has thrown for over 1,000 yards and tossed seven touchdowns with three interceptions. He also has 18 rushing touchdowns.

Tevin Washington and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
are ready to be crowned ACC Champions.

Georgia Tech is ranked 3rd in the country for rushing yards per game. They're averaging about 320 yards per game. Tevin Washington has picked up a lot of those yards, but so has their current starting running back Zach Laskey. Laskey has over 600 rushing yards, but only has one rushing touchdown. The reason for the lone rushing touchdown...Orwin Smith, who is another one of GT's running backs is currently injured. Smith was the starting running back for Georgia Tech, but was injured, and is doubtful for the ACC Championship.

Georgia Tech also has a few options at wide receiver, obviously trying to make Tevin Washington's day a little easier. One is named Jeff Greene. Greene has 18 receptions for 284 yards and two touchdowns. The other is Robert Godhigh, who has reeled in 15 catches for 227 yards and four touchdowns.

The Yellow Jackets are also ranked 23rd in the nation for points scored with an average of 36.2. Their defense however, is ranked 86, allowing about 30 points per game. Their defense is going to have to have a pretty solid game to shut down EJ Manuel and the Seminoles.

The Seminoles are ranked eighth nationally for points scored, averaging 41.5 points per game. They're also ranked seventh in the nation for points allowed, holding their opponents to an average of 15.1 points! That's impressive, on both sides of the ball!

EJ Manuel looks to lead the Seminoles right past Georgia
Tech, and to the ACC Championship this Saturday.

FSU is led by EJ Manuel. We've talked about him before. He has thrown for 2,967 yards, 22 touchdowns, and only nine picks. He has also punched the ball into the endzone three times. He is an incredible player that has all FSU faithful behind him.

FSU is also equip with two rather impressive running backs. Since their starter Chris Thompson is injured, Devonta Freeman and James Wilder Jr have taken the ball and ran with it (no pun intended). Freeman has carried the ball 84 times for 571 yards, while Wilder Jr has rushed it 89 times for 514 yards. They've also combined for 16 rushing touchdowns. A pretty solid ground game if I've seen one.

Manuel also has two weapons at wide receiver by the names of Rashad Greene and Kelvin Benjamin. Greene has 614 yards receiving and five touchdowns while Benjamin has 479 receiving yards and four touchdowns.

Bottom line is, Georgia Tech has to find a way to not only shut down the explosive offense of Florida State, but they have to be able to scored on this very tough defense. FSU has shut down most of their opponents this season. With Georgia Tech's high ranking in rushing yards, they do stand a chance, but they're going to have to be able to score fast and often. As long as they're able to shut down that Seminoles offense, and more specific EJ Manuel, they very well could win this game, and with it, the ACC Championship.

This game is being aired on ESPN at 8:00 PM ET Saturday night. You won't want to miss it.

- Matt Lytle

@mattlytle

Big Ten Championship: #12 Nebraska vs Wisconsin Preview

In its 2^nd ever championship game, the Big Ten conference hosts the #12 Nebraska Cornhuskers and the Wisconsin Badgers in a rematch on neutral turf at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. On September 29^th both teams opened their in-conference play against each other at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln. At this point in the season both teams were 3-1. Though the Badgers led the Huskers 27-10 all the way into the 3^rd quarter, Nebraska came back in a big way in the 4^th to a 30-27 victory. Nebraska went on to finish 7-1 in conference play, Wisconsin ended up 4-4.

Taylor Martinez looks to lead Nebraska to the B1G Title.

Nebraska is coming off a 6-game winning streak to finish off the regular season, including their last win at Iowa. The Huskers cinched that win in the 2^nd half after senior running back, Rex Burkhead, who had been out with a left knee sprain, started the 3^rd quarter, scored the go-ahead touchdown and finished the game with 69 yards in 16 carries. Coach Pelini has said that Burkhead will be good to go in the starting line up of the game this Saturday. Even without Burkhead, the Huskers boasted the most powerful running game in the Big Ten with players like Ameer Abdullah and his 1000+ rushing yards. 

That being said, the Huskers’ will be without their starting Center as well as their starting defensive tackle. The Huskers offense is really going to have to make up for that loss on the defense and an inexperienced Center, but that shouldn’t be as big of a concern with a strong, well-rounded quarterback in Taylor Martinez. 

As far as quarterbacks’ go for Wisconsin, they’ll be starting a not as experienced Curt Phillips, the Badgers 3^rd quarterback of the season due to injuries. Phillips has started the past 3 games. The Badgers offense does catch a break getting back All-Big Ten wide receiver Jared Abbrederis AND the Badgers still have 2011 Heisman Trophy finalist, Montee Ball. The senior running back has accumulated over 1,500 yards rushing and scored 39 touchdowns this season, scoring his 79^th career touchdown in last week’s loss to Penn State to set an NCAA record. Ball will be a MAJOR KEY to the Badgers having a chance at a victory. 

Montee Ball plans on adding onto his NCAA record
of rushing TDs in a career this Saturday.

Wisconsin also has a lot to prove coming into this game considering that if Ohio State and/or Penn State had been eligible for post-season play the Badgers wouldn’t have had a chance at representing the Leaders division. The Cornhuskers are also playing for their 3^rd conference title in a row, which would be the longest streak in their school history. Not to mention the fact that the Badgers lost to the Huskers already this season at Nebraska’s homecoming game, which makes me wonder whether that outcome may have been different if the game had been played in Wisconsin.

Based on statistic alone, Nebraska seems to be pretty comfortably stronger than the Badgers even considering injuries. But with Wisconsin in the same situation as last years conference championship game, losing to Michigan State in the regular season 37-31 and then beating them 42-39, and their 3^rd conference title in a row on the line, I could definitely see Wisconsin coming out with a win. Though based on my picks last week it seems I have a thing for picking underdogs - mainly because I do really believe home turf advantage is one of THE biggest factors. So I guess we’ll see how that works out for me statistically…

Kick-off is set for 8:17pm ET and will be shown on FOX.

- Kelsey Billings

@kelseybillings

Week 14 Staff Picks

Last week in our Staff Picks, Matt and The Sports Messiah tied at 5-2 while Jackson went an impressive 7-0, and unfortunately our newest staff member Kelsey went 3-4. It's okay Kelsey! You can make it up right here!

We have some interesting matchups this weekend with Conference Championship Games!

Here are our Week 14 Staff Picks!

Matt Lytle (@mattlytle) [Overall Record: 11-14]
Rutgers over Louisville
Northern Illinois over Kent State
Stanford over UCLA
Alabama over Georgia
Kansas State over Texas
Florida State over Georgia Tech
Nebraska over Wisconsin

The Sports Messiah (@thesportsmessia) [Overall Record: 16-9]

Rutgers over Louisville
Northern Illinois over Kent State
Stanford over UCLA
Alabama over Georgia
Kansas State over Texas
Florida State over Georgia Tech
Nebraska over Wisconsin

Jackson McNamara (@jacksonmcnamara) [Overall Record: 7-0]

Louisville over Rutgers
Northern Illinois over Kent State
Stanford over UCLA
Alabama over Georgia
Kansas State over Texas
Florida State over Georgia Tech
Nebraska over Wisconsin


Kelsey Billings (@kelseybillings) [Overall Record: 3-4]

Rutgers over Louisville
Northern Illinois over Kent State
Stanford over UCLA
Alabama over Georgia
Kansas State over Texas
Florida State over Georgia Tech
Wisconsin over Nebraska

Some picks are very similar while there are a few key differences. We'll see how everyone ends up next week!

#18 Texas Longhorns at #6 Kansas State Wildcats Preview

Saturday night at 8:00 PM, Collin Klein will not only look to prove to the Heisman voters the he deserves the Heisman trophy, but he will also look to lead his Kansas State Wildcats to yet another victory this year, this time over the Texas Longhorns.

Collin Klein looks to impress Heisman
voters this Saturday against Texas.

This season the Longhorns haven't been as impressive as most years. They have an 8-3 overall record, with the three losses all coming in Big 12 play. KSU has only lost one game, to Baylor on November 17th. Kansas State hasn't had a game since then. Coming off of a loss, they'll definitely be looking to get back to their winning ways inside Bill Snyder Stadium.

Collin Klein has had a very impressive season, throwing for over 2,300 yards and 14 touchdowns, while also rushing for 787 yards and scoring 20 rushing touchdowns. Sounds like a Heisman candidate to me.

Klein has a running back behind him by the name of John Hubert. Hubert has carried the ball 158 times for 826 yards and 12 touchdowns. He is a nice reliable option Klein has, not only to pass to, but also to take the pressure off of Klein, and open up both sides of the offense for the Wildcats.

The Wildcats also have Chris Harper and Tyler Lockett at wide receiver. Both men have three receiving touchdowns. Harper has 727 receiving yards while Lockett has 579. Both will look to have a big game this Saturday and assist Klein in impressing those Heisman voters while also gaining their 11th victory of the season.

The Longhorns have other plans however. Although Texas hasn't had their best year, they have been playing well. Unfortunately for them, their quarterback David Ash is questionable, and it looks as if Colt McCoy's little brother Case McCoy will be starting at quarterback.

Case isn't a bad quarterback. Just hasn't had the experience Ash has. McCoy is currently 28/42 for 408 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception. KSU will be looking to put a lot of pressure on McCoy, to force mistakes, and obviously try to force some turnovers.

Mike Davis will look to assist Case McCoy in leading
the Longhorns to a victory over KSU.

McCoy has two reliable receivers to throw to. Mike Davis is one. Davis has 51 receptions for 891 yards and seven touchdowns. Jaxon Shipley (who is the little brother of NFL wide receiver Jordan Shipley - who played at Texas with Case's big brother Colt). Jaxon has reeled in 46 receptions for 581 yards and five touchdowns.

Texas is allowing about 28 points per game while Kansas State is only allowing 20. It looks as if KSU's defense is the better D, and with Texas starting McCoy as QB, I really think they're going to have a tough time slowing down Kansas State. KSU coming off of a loss is another big factor in my eyes, as most teams coming off of a loss are that much more hungry to put another 'W' in that win column.

The Longhorns are going to have to put pressure on Collin Klein, and pretty much shut him down completely. If he doesn't burn you through the air, he'll burn you with his feet. If they can shut Klein down, they may just shut the Wildcats down. But they also have to be able to move the ball on this Wildcat defense.

This matchup is a good one. It will be a good game Saturday night on ABC.

- Matt Lytle

@mattlytle

MAC Championship: #21 Northern Illinois vs #17 Kent State Preview

The Mid-American Conference has been quite the impressive conference this season. Most notably, the Northern Illinois Huskies and the Kent State Golden Flashes. Both teams I'm sure weren't projected to do much this season, but both have broken into the Top 25. Also, both teams have only had one loss each! Northern Illinois lost to Iowa while Kent State lost to Kentucky. Both teams are also obviously undefeated in the MAC. But that stops Friday!

Friday at 7:00 PM NIU takes on Kent State on ESPN2, for the MAC Championship. And although most people probably don't look toward the MAC for a good football game, they'll be in for a treat Friday night!

Northern Illinois is led by the MAC MVP, Jordan Lynch, a red-shirt junior, has had quite the impressive season this year, throwing for 2,750 yards for 23 touchdowns and only four touchdowns. Yeah, only four...

Jordan Lynch has over 2,750 yards passing, and 39 total TDs.

He has also rushed for 1,611 yards and 16 rushing touchdowns! I know Collin Klein, Johnny Manziel, Braxton Miller and others are being hyped for the Heisman, but why this guys name hasn't come up is beyond me.

Lynch has two very capable receivers in Martel Moore and Tommylee Lewis, who have combined for over 100 receptions, 1,400 yards and 16 touchdowns. But the help doesn't stop there. Northern Illinois also has running back Akeem Daniels, who has rushed for 304 yards and eight touchdowns.

NIU is obviously ranked high in rushing yards, averaging 245 yards per game (ranking them 9th in the nation for rushing). They are also averaging 40.5 points per game, and only allowing 17.5 points per game. Very impressive numbers.

Kent State isn't far behind NIU in passing yards, being ranked 11th in the nation with an average of 241.5 yards per game.

Kent State's QB, Spencer Keith has had a good season as well, throwing for over 1,500 yards, tossing 11 touchdowns and only seven interceptions. He has also punched four touchdowns into the endzone.

Kent State also has two very reliable running backs in Dri Archer and Trayion Durham.

Dri Archer has a total of 18 TDs this season.

Dri Archer has 138 carries this season for 1,337 yards. He has scored 14 rushing touchdowns. He also has 30 receptions for 458 yards, and four receiving touchdowns. Quite a dual-threat, he is quite the weapon Spencer Keith has at his side.

Trayion Durham has rushed the ball 236 times for 1,176 yards and scored 14 rushing touchdowns just like Archer.

Kent State's receivers haven't had quite the year as Northern Illinois'. The Golden Flashes have Josh Boyle and Eric Adeyemi as their two top receivers. They have combined for over 500 yards receiving, and 6 total touchdowns.

Both teams have been quite impressive this year. It has been fun watching them, and this game Friday should be very entertaining.

I just don't see Kent State being able to slow down Jordan Lynch. With Lynch being able to throw the ball, or rush it, he seems to be quite an unstoppable QB. I think the NCAA needs to look at this guy for a few more awards than what he's already got. But that's just my opinion...I'm just a writer!

I have NIU winning in this championship game! Make sure to tune into ESPN2 Friday night at 7:00!

Northern Illinois: 42
Kent State: 31

- Jackson McNamara

@jacksonmcnamara

Louisville Cardinals at Rutgers Scarlet Knights Preview

Thursday night at 7:30, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights will play host to the Louisville Cardinals in a Big East showdown. Although it looks like Rutgers has the conference locked up, depending on this outcome, and the Cincinnati/UConn outcome, quite a few teams could win a share of the Big East Championship.

Teddy Bridgewater will look to overcome
a broken wrist this Thursday.

Louisville sophomore quarterback Teddy Bridgewater broke his left (non-throwing) wrist. But he will still play against the Rutgers. Although, the Rutgers defense is ranked 4th in the nation when it comes to points allowed, Bridgewater is going to tough is out. Rutgers defense however, is looking to give Bridgewater a rough game.

Bridgewater has been having a very good season. He is 247/359, he has thrown for 3,189 yards, and has thrown 23 touchdowns and only six interceptions. Very impressive stats for the sophomore.

Rutgers sophomore quarterback Gary Nova will be looking to lead his team to a victory on home turf. Nova has thrown for 2,282 yards this season, 20 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions. Impressive amount of touchdowns, but the 13 interceptions brings a level of concern. Although Louisville is giving up an average of 24.5 points per game.

Both teams' junior running backs will be looking to take the load off of their quarterbacks a little, and open up the running game so each team have multiple options. Louisville running back, Jeremy Wright, hasn't quite hit 1,000 yards yet, so far rushing for 723 yards this season. He has also scored nine rushing touchdowns. Wright is actually back up running back to Senorise Perry, who unfortunately is out for the season with a torn ACL.

Gary Nova has thrown for over 2,000 yards this season.

The Scarlet Knights' running back Jawan Jamison has eclipsed the 1,000 yard mark, and has also punched in four rushing touchdowns.

Both teams also have a group of very capable and reliable wide receivers.

Louisville has DeVante Parker and Andrell Smith, who have combined for over 60 receptions, 1,000 yards receiving and 11 touchdowns. Meanwhile Rutgers is equip with Brandon Coleman and Mark Harrison, who have combined for over 70 receptions, nearly 1,000 yards receiving and 14 touchdowns.

On paper, these teams look very similar. Louisville does average nearly 90 more yards per game in passing, but with Teddy Bridgewater injured, I'm not surprised how dangerous their passing game will be.

Bridgewater won't be effective taking snaps from center, but will have to take snaps from the Pistol or Shotgun formations. He also won't be able to use the play-action pass like he has done so much this year. That is clearly an issue that somehow the Cardinals will have to overcome. In the end, I really could see either team win this one. It's definitely a matchup to watch Thursday night at 7:30 PM on ESPN!

- Matt Lytle

@mattlytle

Welcome Kelsey Billings to the Project CFB Team

We would like to officially welcome Florida State Seminoles senior cheerleader Kelsey Billings to the Project College Football team! Kelsey was our guest picker last week. We began then to speak to her about coming on board here to write about college football. She was very excited about the opportunity and is looking forward to writing her first preview later on this week.

We encourage you to follow Kelsey on Twitter @kelseybillings. Also check out her blog at www.SeminoleSpearIt.wordpress.com.

And remember to keep coming back to our site to see check out all of Kelsey's articles.

Project College Football Awards Semi-Finalists

We are toward the end of the regular college football season, so what better time than now to present our awards semi-finalists, but also the clever names that we have named our awards! Now, first of all I wanted to explain, that we wanted to name the awards after two really good players for that position. So, you may not see the names "Rice", "Howard", "Griffin", "Sanders", or "Flutie". We still respect and honor those individuals, but wanted to use names from a more recent time.

Although, Coach of the Year we went with more legendary coaches just for the simple fact that you can't really judge exactly how great a coach will be until they have been out of coaching for a long time (I won't name names, but there is a certain coach that would have easily had this award named after him until unfortunate recent events).

Johnny Manziel of Texas A&M



We also very well could be adding more trophies as we go. We're just flying by the seat of our pants!

So without further ado...

"Tebow-Dorsey Award"
(Best Quarterback)

Johnny Manziel (TAMU) - 3047 Yds, 21 TDs, 7 INTs

Matt Barkley (USC) - 3273 Yds, 36 TDs, 15 INTs

Geno Smith (WVU) - 3361 Yds, 35 TDs, 5 INTs

Tajh Boyd (CLEM) - 3367 Yds, 33 TDs, 11 INTs

AJ McCarron (ALA) - 2291 Yds, 21 TDs, 2 INTs

EJ Manuel (FSU) - 2785 Yds, 21 TDs, 6 INTs

Aaron Murray (UGA) - 2986 Yds, 28 TDs, 7 INTs

Teddy Bridgewater (LOU) - 2858 Yds, 21 TDs, 5 INTs
Collin Klein (KSU) - 2306 Yds, 12 TDs, 3 INTs



Kenjon Barner of Oregon



"Williams-Peterson Award"

(Best Running Back)

Kenjon Barner (ORE) - 1426 Yds, 19 TDs

Montee Ball (WISC) - 1417 Yds, 17 TDs

Ka'Deem Carey (ARIZ) - 1585 Yds, 19 TDs

Stefphon Jefferson (NEV) - 1564 Yds, 20 TDs

Edwards-Fitzgerald Award"

(Best Wide Receiver)

Marqise Lee (USC) - 1605 Yds, 14 TDs

Terrance Williams (BAY) - 1518 Yds, 11 TDs

Stedman Bailey (WVU) - 1260 Yds, 20 TDs

Quinton Patton (LT) - 1267 Yds, 11 TDs

"Woodson-Laurinaitis Award"

(Best Defensive Player)

Damontre Moore (TAMU) - 12.5 Sacks

Manti Te'o (ND) - 6 INTs

Quanterus Smith (WKU) - 12.5 Sacks

Anthony Barr (UCLA) - 12 Sacks

"Nugent-Janikowski Award"

(Best Kicker)

Steven Schott (BALL) - 23/28, 52 Long, 44/45 XP

Dustin Hopkins (FSU) - 22/26, 56 Long, 56/57 XP

Quinn Sharp (OKST) - 21/27, 51 Long, 55/55 XP

Jeremiah Detmer (TOL) - 21/26, 47 Long, 44/47 XP

Caleb Sturgis (FLA) - 20/24, 51 Long, 28/29 XP

"Mesko-Sepulveda Award"

(Best Punter)

Alexander Kinal (WAKE) - 3645 Yds, 61 Long

Darragh O'Neill (COLO) - 3137 Yds, 61 Long

Justin DuVernois (ILL) - 2933 Yds, 72 Long

Mike Sadler (MSU) - 2811 Yds, 70 Long

"Yost-Bryant Award"

(Coach of the Year)

Nick Saban (ALA)

Brian Kelly (ND)

Chip Kelly (ND)

Urban Meyer (OSU)

Bill O'Brien (PSU)

Freshman of the Year

(We will name this award after it's first recipient, at the end of this season)

Johnny Manziel (TAMU)

Marcus Mariota (ORE)

Devin Funchess (MICH)

TJ Yeldon (ALA)

Keep in mind that these are our awards, you do have the right to disagree. However, if you want to let us know who you think should be considered for a certain award, please let us know in our comments, but lets keep it clean, and not have arguing or bickering.

Also, the names of the awards are final, so those are non-debatable.

Thank you for reading and following Project College Football!

#12 South Carolina Gamecocks at #11 Clemson Tigers Preview

This Saturday night at 7:00 PM, the #12 South Carolina Gamecocks take on the #11 Clemson Tigers. This will be the 110th meeting between the two rivals. Currently, Clemson leads the all-time rivalry record 65-40-4, however South Carolina has won three straight against the Tigers.

Connor Shaw looks to lead South Carolina past
rival Clemson this Saturday at 7:00 PM

South Carolina will be led by junior quarterback Connor Shaw. Shaw, who has been a pretty precise passer, has also shown his scrambling skills this season. He has proven that he is one tough quarterback, taking numerous hits in games, and still continuing on. He has thrown for over 1,700 yards with 15 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He also has three rushing touchdowns to his name.

South Carolina's passing offense is ranked 75th in the nation, averaging about 222 passing yards per game. However Clemson's defense has allowed an average of 24.7 points per game (ranking them 47th in the nation for points allowed).

The Gamecocks running game hasn't been the greatest this season, most likely because junior Heisman hopeful running back Marcus Lattimore was injured earlier in the season. Senior Kenny Miles has taken the running back spot and has a little over 300 yards to his credit. He has also punched in two rushing touchdowns.

Tajh Boyd has 3,367 yards, 33 TDs and 11 INTs this season.

Clemson is led by junior quarterback Tajh Boyd, who is 240/353, for 3,367 yards, 33 touchdowns, and only 11 interceptions. He also has eight rushing touchdowns so far this season. Boyd looks to have a very good performance against South Carolina, and he definitely will need to with South Carolina's points allowed rank being 13th in the nation.

Boyd has two very reliable wide receivers in DeAndre Hopkins and Sammy Watkins. They have combined for over 1,700 yards receiving, and 18 touchdowns. Boyd also has tight end Brandon Ford as a nice target also. Ford has reeled in 8 receiving touchdowns this season.

Clemson is averaging 332 yards passing per game, which gains them the rank of 9th in the nation in passing yards. They are also ranked 4th in points scored, with an average of 44.6! That isn't only because of their passing game. Their running game isn't too bad either.

Clemson's running back, senior Andre Ellington has also had a pretty good season, rushing the ball 186 times for 959 yards and eight touchdowns.

Last year's game, South Carolina put a whooping on Clemson, winning 34-13. I see this game being a lot closer. Although Clemson is ranked a lot higher in passing yards and points scored per game, South Carolina's defense has been very good this season. With the addition of having Connor Shaw at the reigns as quarterback, you definitely can't count the Gamecocks out.

It's probably true in most games, but I'm going to say that the team with the most takeaways is going to win this game. Clemson is going to have to put pressure on Connor Shaw, making him one dimensional, and shut down the Gamecocks' backup running back. If they can successfully do that, they'll win this game. But if they let Connor Shaw have his time, and be able to throw or run when he needs to, he can shred this defense.

Should be a good one going down Saturday night at 7:00 PM ET. The game will be broadcast from Memorial Stadium on ESPN. You don't want to miss this one.

- Matt Lytle

@mattlytle

Week 13 Staff Picks

Last week due to a few upsets, our staff didn't have a very good week of picks. Matt went 1-6 while The Sports Messiah went 3-4.

This week we added Jackson McNamara to the staff as a writer, so he will be in on the picks, as well as a special guest picker that we have this week.

The Sports Messiah couldn't get his picks in until Saturday morning, so he didn't get to pick the USF vs Cincinnati game.

A lot of rivalry games this week, and a lot of solid matchups. Let's see how our staff picked them.

Matt Lytle (@mattlytle) [overall record: 6-12]
Cincinnati over USF
Michigan over Ohio State
Oregon over Oregon State
Florida State over Florida
Oklahoma over Oklahoma State
South Carolina over Clemson
Notre Dame over USC

The Sports Messiah (@thesportsmessia) [overall record: 11-7]
Ohio State
Oregon
Florida
Oklahoma
Clemson
Notre Dame

Jackson McNamara (@jacksonmcnamara) [overall record: 0-0]
Cincinnati over USF
Ohio State over Michigan

Florida State Seminoles Cheerleader
Kelsey Billings

Oregon over Oregon State
Florida over Florida State
Oklahoma over Oklahoma State
South Carolina over Clemson
Notre Dame over USC

And now for our guest picker... We had the privilege to meet senior Florida State Seminole cheerleader Kelsey Billings on Twitter. After speaking with her a little about her love for college football, she agreed to be our first ever guest picker. So let's see how Kelsey picks this week.

Kelsey Billings (@kelseybillings) [overall record: 0-0]
Cincinnati over USF
Michigan over Ohio State
Oregon State over Oregon
Florida State over Florida
Oklahoma over Oklahoma State
Clemson over South Carolina
Notre Dame over USC

#1 Notre Dame Fighting Irish at USC Trojans Preview

Saturday night in prime time, the #1 ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish will head into Los Angeles Coliseum with two things on their mind. Number one, is beating the USC Trojans. Number two, is if they beat the Trojans, they are pretty much guaranteed to be playing for the National Championship. The last time the Fighting Irish won the National Championship was 1988, so it's something that they have been itching to do for quite sometime.

Although we can't look past the Trojans. USC is normally led by Heisman hopeful quarterback Matt Barkley, but after injuring his arm, Barkley will sit this important game out, and freshman quarterback Max Wittek will take the snaps. Wittek hasn't had much experience, throwing less than 100 yards and only one touchdown. But he has a supporting cast that will definitely make his job at quarterback a little bit easier.

Marqise Lee looks to upset the #1 Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

Wittek will be looking to another Heisman hopeful in sophomore wideout Marqise Lee. Lee has reeled in 107 catches for 1,605 yards and 14 touchdowns. Lee has made Matt Barkley's job as Trojans' starting quarterback easier, and he'll look to do the same for Max Wittek Saturday night.

But the wideouts don't stop there. Junior wide receiver Robert Woods has also had quite a season, catching the ball 66 times for over 700 yards and 10 touchdowns. Wittek will definitely have some reliable receivers at hand to help him out Saturday night. Although Notre Dame's defense is ranked number one at points allowed, only allowing 10.1 points per game. And another Heisman hopeful, Manti Te'o will be looking to spoil Wittek's hope for an upset of the #1 team.

USC's backfield is also looking rather impressive. Junior running back Silas Redd and senior Curtis McNeal have combined for over 1,300 yards and 11 rushing touchdowns. They'll look to make Wittek's day a little easier as well, gaining a lot of yards on the ground and opening up the option to pass it down field, spreading Notre Dame's defense thin.

Notre Dame however, isn't lacking at offense either. They're averaging about 200 yards rushing per game, and they can thank both running backs for that. Senior backs Theo Riddick and Cierre Wood have gained a combined 1,454 yards on the ground and 8 rushing touchdowns.

But the Brian Kelly's team's offense doesn't stop there. They are also equip with sophomore quarterback Everett Golson who has thrown for over 1,900 yards and 11 touchdowns, with only five interceptions thrown. And that's not counting Tommy Rees. Rees has only thrown for 436 yards and two touchdowns, but he's a natural leader that has came into the game and led critical scoring drives. Coach Kelly loves to have the ace up his sleeve that he can pull out if he needs to.

Golson has two wide receives that he's hooked up for for over 1,000 yards and eight touchdowns. Their names are Tyler Eifert and TJ Jones.

Manti Te'o is looking to prove to the skeptics that he
deserves the Heisman hype, and that ND deserves the #1 spot.

On paper, the matchup looks fairly even. USC has the nod in passing yards and points scored per game, while Notre Dame has the better stats in rushing yards and points allowed per game. But without Matt Barkley, the USC Trojans are going to have a hard time defeating the #1 ranked team in the country. There are many skeptics that say Notre Dame isn't as good as a #1 ranked team should be. But Brian Kelly, Everett Golson and of course Manti Te'o beg to differ. With big victories over Michigan State, Michigan, Stanford and Oklahoma, the Fighting Irish feel they deserve every bit of that #1 ranking, and they'll look to prove it Saturday night at 8:00 PM ET on ABC.

Can USC pull the upset? Stranger things have happened. But like I said, with Barkley out of the game, and with a freshman in as starting QB, it's going to be a tough task. We'll see what happens! Should be interesting.

- Matt Lytle

@mattlytle

#5 Oregon Ducks at #15 Oregon State Beavers Preview

Saturday at 3:00 in Corvallis, Oregon, the #5 Oregon Ducks will take on their in-state rival #15 Oregon State Beavers. Oregon is coming off of a shocking overtime loss to Stanford while Oregon State is coming off of a blowout against Cal.

Oregon looked to go on to the National Championship game against Notre Dame if they would have gotten by Stanford, but unfortunately for Chip Kelly and the rest of the Ducks, that didn't happen.

Of course with them being ranked #5, if the right teams lost, and they won out, I guess they could possibly still find their way into the National Championship picture, but it's looking unlikely.

Marcus Mariota has thrown 29 TDs
and only 6 INTs.

Although Oregon probably won't be looking at the National Championship picture, their freshman quarterback Marcus Mariota could still possibly be looking at the Heisman picture. Although he has quite a bit of competition, Mariota has looked really impressive this season, throwing 201 completions in 288 attempts, for 2,371 yards, 29 touchdowns and only six interceptions. Pretty good stats if you ask me.

Mariota has a solid, Heisman hopeful in the backfield by the name of Kenjon Barner. Barner, who is a senior this year, has rushed 220 times for 1,426 yards and hit the endzone 19 times. Barner is quite the work horse for the Oregon Ducks, and will look to continue his impressive stats against the Beaver's defense, who is giving up an average of 18.6 points per game (Oregon is giving up an average of 21.8 points per game).

Oregon State is led by sophomore quarterback Sean Mannion, who has had a pretty good year. He's thrown 149 completions in 238 attempts for 1,904 yards, but he has only thrown 12 touchdowns, and nine interceptions. His touchdown to interception ratio isn't even close to Mariota's.

OSU also has freshman running back Storm Woods in the backfield. What a cool name huh? Woods has rushed 143 times for 698 yards and seven touchdows.

Markus Wheaton has 977 receiving yards, and 10 TDs.

The biggest weapon the Beavers have on offense is in their wide receivers. Although sophomor Brandin Cooks has had a pretty solid year, reeling in 59 catches for over 1,000 yards and five touchdowns, their senior WR Markus Wheaton has caught double the touchdowns (he has 10 touchdowns this season), although he hasn't had as many yards (he only has 977 yards catching in 68 attempts). If Mannion can connect to Wheaton and spread the Ducks' secondary thin, that opens the game up for the Beavers to be able to control it until the final whistle.

It's going to be quite a tough task though, especially with Oregon coming off of it's first loss of the season. It's usually not an easy thing to beat a one-loss team after their first loss of the season. But in college football, crazier things have happened.

This game will kick off at around 3:00 PM ET Saturday afternoon. It should definitely be a good matchup. Both teams have offensive and defensive fire power, but I have to give the nod to the Oregon Ducks. They're going to come into this one hungry to get a W after that tough loss against Stanford.

I got a blowout...

Oregon: 52
Oregon State: 28

- Jackson McNamara

@jacksonmcnamara

#19 Michigan Wolverines at Ohio State Buckeyes Preview

I have always said that one of the things that makes college football better than the National Football League is the rivalry games, and I will stand by that statement until I'm long gone. This game, "The Game" is one of those rivalry games.

Growing up about an hour from Columbus, I got to experience the rivalry. I've seen die-hard Ohio State fans. I've seen die-hard Michigan fans. I've seen the competition and the hatred.



Since before Bo Schembechler and Woody Hayes, these two teams have hated each other, although Bo and Woody faced off in the 10 Year War, and really took this rivalry to a whole new level.



Bo went 5-4-1 against Woody in the 10 Year War.

Both teams have had off-seasons. Both teams have had their fair share of struggling against the other. Ohio State fans had to live through the John Cooper era, while Michigan fans had to endure the Rich Rodriguez era.

Michigan leads the rivalry with an overall record of 58-43-6. This is the 109th meeting between these two teams, and I have to say, this is one of the toughest to pick a winner. Both teams seem very much similar, despite what any Michigan or OSU fan would say.

Both teams have struggled this year throwing the ball. Michigan is ranked 97th in the NCAA averaging about 200 yards per game, while OSU is ranked 103rd, with an average of 180.8 passing yards per game.

Ohio State has the lead in rushing, being ranked 9th and averaging 245.5 yards per game. Michigan is only ranked 36th in the nation, and is averaging 194.5 yards per game.

Both teams average close to the same amount of points per game, Michigan averaging 30.8 (ranking 48th in the nation for points scored), while Ohio State scores an average of 38.2 (ranking 18th in the nation).

Defense could very well be the key here. Michigan's defense is allowing only 18.1 points per game, while OSU is giving up 23.0. That's a ranking of 17th for points allowed for Michigan, and a ranking of 34 for Ohio State.

Let's dig deeper shall we?

Michigan used to be led by quarterback Denard Robinson, and in some ways, they still are. Denard was injured earlier this season, and just stepped back onto the field last Saturday in Michigan's victory against Iowa. And although he did take some snaps at QB, Robinson's role was very much a running back and wide receiver, something that some Michigan fans have been asking Brady Hoke and Al Borges for for some time.



Devin Gardner has proven to be quite the QB for Michigan.



Michigan's man under center now is junior Devin Gardner, who has been quite impressive as QB. In his only three starts for Michigan as a QB, Gardner has thrown for over 800 yards, seven touchdowns, and three interceptions. He has also punched the ball into the endzone six times in those three starts.

Denard also looks to be a huge weapon as a running back/wide receiver. He has rushed for over 1,000 yards this season and hit pay dirt six times as well.

Michigan running back Fitzgerald Toussaint was unfortunately injured last Saturday and doesn't look to play for the rest of this season, but since he is a junior, he'll be back next year. It's still sad that he'll miss a game as important as this.

Gardner also has two reliable receivers in Jeremy Gallon and Roy Roundtree, who have combined for over 1,000 yards and four receiving touchdowns. Gardner definitely has a lot more accuracy than Denard, and is just as much a threat to be able to tuck the ball and run. With his 6'4" frame, he can stretch for those yards a little easier than Denard could.

Does this seem like it'll be the battle of two quarterbacks yet?!



Braxton Miller has been an impressive QB for OSU.

Braxton Miller will look to lead the Buckeyes to victory. The Buckeyes should somewhat be used to beating the Wolverines, having only lost two games in the last 10 years to their rival (that's if you count Ohio State's vacated 2010 victory over Michigan.

Miller has had quite the year, gaining Heisman talk with stats of 134/236, 1,850 yards, 14 touchdowns and only six interceptions. Miller has also scored 13 rushing touchdowns.

Miller's running back, junior Carlos Hyde will look to ad on to his 824 total rushing yards for this season. He also has 15 rushing touchdowns to his name as well.

Braxton also finds help in his wide receivers. Two of which, Devin Smith and Philly Brown, have combined for a total of over 1,000 yards rushing and eight touchdowns.

Their offenses have been rather impressive this season, but have also had their struggles. The same story is with their defenses. Both teams have defenses that can shut out teams, but also give up many points, and put their team in jeopardy of losing.

Michigan's defensive coordinator is none other than Ravens' former defensive coordinator Greg Mattison. With a defensive coach of that magnitude, you'd have to think that he'll have them ready and willing to flatten that Ohio State offense come Saturday in Columbus, Ohio. But obviously Luke Fickell will look to have his defense ready as well.



Urban Meyer looks to beat Michigan in his 1st year as OSU coach.



And let's not forget the coaches! Jim Tressel resigned as Ohio State's head football coach on May 30, 2011 due to NCAA trouble. Luke Fickell was named interim-head coach for the 2011 season, and since then, Urban Meyer was hired as the head coach of the Buckeyes. Meyer has ties to Ohio State and obviously the state of Ohio, and will be looking to gain a victory over Michigan in his first season as Buckeyes head coach.

Michigan head coach Brady Hoke has ties to Michigan as well, being a defensive coach for the Wolverines when they won the National Championship in 1997. Hoke dislikes Ohio State so much, he won't even say "Ohio State". He will only refer to their team as "Ohio". Just as well, many OSU fans and coaches refer to Michigan as "that team up north".

  

Brady Hoke is 1-0 against the Buckeyes as Michigan head coach.

Brady Hoke gained a victory over Ohio State in his first year as head coach of the Wolverines (last year - 2011), and like I said before, Urban Meyer will look to do the same thing this season.



I have followed this rivalry since I was a kid, and I can say that with Brady Hoke at Michigan and Urban Meyer at Ohio State, I really could see this being the start of the "new" 10 Year War. Woody and Bo did it in the late 60's and 70's. Will Brady and Urban do it in the 2010's and 2020's? Only time will tell.

"The Game" will start at noon ET and air on ABC. It'll take place at Ohio Stadium, "The Horseshoe" in Columbus, Ohio. Pick who you think will win if you must (or if you can), but it is lined up to be quite an entertaining game!

- Matt Lytle

@mattlytle

#7 LSU Tigers at Arkansas Razorbacks Preview

Although LSU looks to be the odds on favorite to win this game, it's dangerous. I've always been a firm believer in, those teams that you're playing that you should beat soundly, have nothing to lose, therefore, they're more dangerous to you than an undefeated team.

Am I saying that Arkansas is going to upset the LSU Tigers this Saturday at Razorback Stadium? Not necessarily, but feel that if LSU comes into this game over confident, thinking it's a gimme game, thinking because Arkansas is ranked 4-7 that it's going to be easy, they could possibly be in trouble.

Arkansas hasn't had a great year. One of it's worst in quite a while. When John L. Smith took over as head coach of the Razorbacks, people weren't sure what to think. Now we can only assume that this is his one and only year as head coach there.

LSU QB Zack Mettenberger has thrown for 2,272 yards this season.

The key to this game is going to be LSU's junior quarterback Zach Mettenberger. This season he has thrown for 2,272 yards. He has thrown 10 touchdowns and six interceptions. If he can shred that Arkansas defense, who has only six interceptions all season long, LSU can easily win this game.

Arkansas' passing game isn't too bad either, passing for over 296 yards on average per game. But LSU's defense is only allowing an average of about 17 points per game.

It's definitely a tough matchup for Arkansas, but like I said, if LSU comes in over confident, and Arkansas takes advantage of that, watch out LSU, because you'll be falling out of the Top Ten.

I have LSU in this one. Winning rather easily.

LSU: 41
Arkansas: 21

- Jackson McNamara

@jacksonmcnamara