2017 Week 10 Preview

Week 9 was very interesting. It was a great weekend for me. Arkansas overcame a 31-7 deficit at Ole Miss to win 38-37 (they won on a FG because nothing makes sense). UNLV also beat Fresno State by 10 on the road. The bowl hopes are still alive for both of my teams. Ohio State came back to beat Penn State 39-38. TCU’s offense couldn’t find the end zone and Iowa State upset their second top-5 team in the month of October. USF suffered their first loss of the season at the hands of Houston. Oh, and Jim McElwain got fired from Florida. Week 10 features seven ranked vs. ranked games. That means we are going to have some shakeups in next week’s polls. But let’s not get too ahead of ourselves.

How I Fared: 4-2 last week, 39-16 overall

Notable Games
19LSU at 2Alabama
Both of these teams are coming off a bye week. This is Alabama’s first real test of the season and starts a very tough stretch for the Tide. LSU looks to be good now, but they still lost to Troy. Bama is a team that wins on offense, defense and special teams. This game is usually a good one. I think we have the potential for another defensive battle. It could also be a higher scoring game. Either way, I think Alabama will win because they are the better team. LSU might provide a scare, but not a big enough one to knock off the Tide.
I am picking Alabama

4Clemson at 20North Carolina State
NC State got rocked by Notre Dame last week. Clemson got a decent win over Georgia Tech and Kelly Bryant seemed to be ok after being hurt against Syracuse. This is a big game for Clemson because at the moment they are sitting at 4 in the CFP rankings. Their loss to Syracuse means they have to win out and win their conference to stay up there. NC State is good, but they might be outmatched in this game.
I am picking Clemson

7Penn State at 24Michigan State
Both of these teams are coming off heartbreaking losses. Penn State gave up an early lead against Ohio State and Michigan State lost at Northwestern in triple OT. Michigan State still plays pretty good defense, but I don’t think they can stop the Penn State offense for four full quarters. It will be interesting to see how Penn State responds to the loss to Ohio State.
I am picking Penn State

5Oklahoma at 11Oklahoma State
It’s strange to have Bedlam this early in the season. I’m also annoyed that it is the same time as the Arkansas game. Oklahoma starts their CFP adventure in the 5-spot. I’m not totally sold on this team for lots of reasons. Oklahoma State is also kinda weird. This game should be very exciting. Lots of points, lots of yards, just fun. Baker Mayfield and Mason Rudolph are fun QBs. I think Oklahoma state has the better defense, but who knows? This game will probably be defense optional.
I am picking Oklahoma State

13Virginia Tech at 10Miami
I like that the committee put Miami at 10. They are undefeated, but there has been a lot of luck involved. Virginia Tech’s only loss is to Clemson. Their offense has been doing well and their defense has been pretty impressive, too. Miami played a close one last week against a not good North Carolina team. I think the Hokie offense is better than Miami’s and I think that will be the main determining factor of this game.
I am picking Virginia Tech

22Arizona at 17USC
Arizona has come out of nowhere this season. They have a weird loss to Houston and close loss at Utah, but last week they got a huge win over Washington State. Khalil Tate has been a great QB for the Wildcats as well and is now on the Heisman radar. USC is coming off a big win over Arizona State, but they got demolished by Notre Dame. QB Sam Darnold has been bitten by the turnover bug. He hasn’t lived up to the preseason hype. Arizona is on a roll right now and I think they will get a close win this weekend.
I am picking Arizona

21Stanford at 12Washington State
The winner of this game depends a lot on Bryce Love. If he plays, I think Stanford is a very good team. But as we learned last week, without Love, they aren’t great. They survived Oregon State 15-14 thanks to a late TD. Washington State got beat bad by Arizona last week. Luke Falk was benched for Tyler Hilinski. He threw 2TDs and ran for 2TDs, but also threw 4INTs. Luke Falk threw 5INTs against Cal a couple weeks ago in their really bad loss. This game depends on Bryce Love.
I am picking Stanford (if Bryce Love plays)

Coastal Carolina at Arkansas
Arkansas won last week at Ole Miss! I was way too stressed. Us winning this game thanks to defense, a second half comeback and a game-winning FG? Makes no sense. But they won and the bowl hopes are still alive. Barely. I’m hoping that win flipped a switch and we will at least be competitive the rest of the season. The Hogs should win comfortably this weekend against Coastal Carolina. I really hope they don’t overlook them. I would like the defense to play better in the first half. That would be great.

Top 25
South Carolina at 1Georgia
19LSU at 2Alabama
Wake Forest at 3Notre Dame
4Clemson at 20NC State
5Oklahoma at 11Oklahoma State
6Ohio State at Iowa
7Penn State at 24Michigan State
Texas at 8TCU
9Wisconsin at Indiana
13Virginia Tech at 10Miami
Oregon at 12Washington
14Auburn at Texas A&M
15Iowa State at West Virginia
Massachusetts at 16Mississippi State
22Arizona at 17USC
18UCF at SMU
21Stanford at 25Washington State
23Memphis at Tulsa (Friday)

Other Games
Mid-week #MACtion begins Tuesday!
Northern Illinois at Toledo (Thursday)
Marshall at FAU (Friday) (FAU is bowl eligible with a win)
UCLA at Utah (Friday)
Hawaii at UNLV
Florida at Missouri
Kansas State at Texas Tech
WKU at Vanderbilt
Syracuse at Florida State
Georgia Tech at Virginia (UVA is bowl eligible with a win)
UAB at Rice (UAB is bowl eligible with a win!)
North Texas at Louisiana Tech
Army at Air Force
Ole Miss at Kentucky
Colorado State at Wyoming
UTSA at FIU (winner is bowl eligible)
Southern Miss at Tennessee
Minnesota at Michigan
Colorado at Arizona State