College Football Preview: OSU Wins, OK State Will Drop from Top 10

For the first time in seven years Ohio State is unranked, and I agree with the polls. 35 passing yards is not top 25 material, and neither is losing to Miami. Needless to say, things need to change on the offensive front, and the coaches decided that Braxton Miller is that change. As of yesterday, they announced that Braxton would be starting on Saturday against Colorado. This is a similar path that Pryor took a few years ago, but I also felt more promise in Pryor than I do with Miller right now. Maybe that is because our receivers are unable to get open, and the line can’t keep a pocket from collapsing.

But not all is lost, if we can survive two more weeks then Posey and Herron will be back, and hopefully the offense will follow. An out of conference loss to Miami isn’t the worst thing in the world, but the problems that plagued the Buckeyes against Toledo didn’t go away over a week. Colorado may be mediocre, but as of right now anything can happen.

What does Ohio State need to do to win the game? They need to move the ball and score. Special Teams and Defense will only take you so far, so I think we need at least…100 passing yards. This wouldn’t be a challenge for most teams in the nation, but you never know anymore. If Braxton can limit turnovers and the line can block well, we have a very good chance to win the game. The defense will continue to be solid, hopefully they don’t give up the big play like last week.

Colorado needs to be aggressive on defense in order to win. They need to bully the offensive line, and force Braxton to make plays with his feet. Their offense also needs to come to play, but if the defense wins the battle then Ohio State’s punter will have a long day punting from his endzone.

Unfortunately for Colorado, I feel that the Buckeyes will win, 13-3

Games to watch:

LSU takes on West Virginia, in one of several top 25 matchups of the weekend. LSU has proven itself against some quality offenses, but West Virginia is arguably one of the best offenses in the nation this year. LSU took care of Oregon and Miss St., and I don’t think that this will change. LSU’s defense is pumped up and excited to shut out WVU, let’s just hope that they can back up that boast.

LSU 24 WVU 10

Alabama plays against Arkansas in a battle for the SEC West. Alabama has been dominant on defense this season thus far, and the offense has been a scoring machine. Their one slip up was against Penn St, where they only scored 27 points, is this a sign that Alabama is not as good as we think? Arkansas is in a similar boat, outscoring their first two opponents 103-10, then struggling in the second half against Troy. This can either be an offensive battle or a defensive struggle, and only one team can win.

Upset Alert! Arkansas 20 Alabama 17

Lastly is a matchup of two top 10 teams, Texas A&M vs. Oklahoma State. The Aggies and the Cowboys have a solid history of very good games, especially last year. This looks to have the same feel, but much higher stakes as the teams are ranked 7th and 8th. The road up to now, for each team, has not been difficult at all; which is why we will see which team belongs in the top 10, or if they both do. Oklahoma St. leads a high octane offense that has scored 157 points in 3 games; unfortunately their defense has given up 81 points to lesser teams. The Aggies, on the other hand, have dominated the two games they have played, but also have not gone up against a decent offense.

TA&M 48 Ok St 30, Ok State drops out of the top 10