Week of Nov 14 Preview

This week has been a tough one for college football. Fourteen games have been postponed or canceled because of the coronavirus. The SEC alone had four games postponed. Even if every game had been played, there are no games that feature two top 25 teams playing each other. On paper, this is a lackluster week of college football. Here’s hoping for some chaos!
P.S. WEAR A MASK!

My Record: 2-4 last week (ouch!), 33-21 overall (that dropped me to 61%)

Notable Games

9Miami at Virginia Tech
Miami had a bit of a scare last week against NC State. They needed an interception after a comeback to secure the win. The ‘Canes’ only loss so far is Clemson. They have been playing very well this season, thanks in large part to QB D’Eriq King. Virginia Tech is coming off of an extremely heartbreaking loss. The Hokies seemed to have the game in the bag after blocking the winning Liberty FG and returning it for a TD as time expired, but head coach Justin Fuente had called a timeout to ice the kicker. Liberty ended up making the FG to win. I think Miami is the better team in this game and I don’t see Virginia Tech’s defense being able to stop the Miami offense.
I am picking Miami

13Wisconsin at Michigan
Wisconsin has not played in the last two weeks because of Covid-19 issues. Their opening game against Illinois was very impressive, but that was a long time ago. QB Graham Mertz is expected to be cleared to play today after being in Covid-19 protocols. Michigan looked really good when we thought Minnesota was good. We know better now, and things don’t look great for the Wolverines. The Badgers might start slow because of their long layoff, but I think they are better. This game might be close, but I doubt it will be very exciting.
I am picking Wisconsin

23Northwestern at Purdue
I’m sure we all expected this game to be a matchup of undefeated teams (not really). Northwestern is coming into this game at 3-0 and Purdue is 2-0 (game against Wisconsin last week canceled). Neither of these teams have a really impressive win, but I think this will be a close and hard-fought game. The two seem to be pretty evenly matched. I think that Northwestern is a bit overranked, but there aren’t a ton of great teams this season. This should be a good game without a lot of flash.
I am picking Northwestern

Penn State at Nebraska
I think everyone is surprised that Penn State started the season 0-3. So far, their biggest loss has been to Maryland. The Nittany Lions need to stop the bleeding and I think they do this week. Their defense has to step up this week. They have given up at least 35 points in every game so far this year. Nebraska is also winless and coming off a close loss to Northwestern. I don’t think this game will be a pretty one, but it should be fun to watch. It could be one of the more exciting games of the day.
I am picking Penn State

Hawaii at San Diego State
San Diego State had a strange loss last weekend against San Jose State after two very comfortable wins to start the season. They should get a competitive game this weekend when Hawaii comes to town. Both of these teams like to score. Defense should be the difference maker in this game. Though I haven’t had a chance to watch much of these teams, I think SDSU has the better defense. This should be a close game, but I expect the Aztecs to be victorious.
I am picking San Diego State

California at UCLA (Sunday)
The Pac12 was able to schedule this game on Friday after California and Utah both had their games canceled because of Covid-19 concerns with their opponents. California has not played yet this season after last week’s game with Washington was postponed. UCLA lost to Colorado last week. Colorado was able to score 21 points of off UCLA turnovers in this game. This is a hard game to pick because we haven’t seen Cal play this season. Vegas has California as a favorite in this game, so I’ll go with them.
I am picking California

Arkansas at 6Florida
The Hogs picked up another win last week, this time against Tennessee. The Razorbacks were down 13-0 going into halftime but came out strong in the 3rd quarter to score 24 points. Tennessee was able to impose their will in the run game in the first half, but the Hogs made some killer halftime adjustments and made the Vols throw the ball. Arkansas’s offense made some strides last week, but they still aren’t where they need to be. This week will be interesting. The Hogs will be without head coach Sam Pittman who has tested positive for Covid-19. As far as I have heard, he is the only one. This will also be QB Feleipe Franks’s return to the Swamp. I think Arkansas will have a little bit extra motivation this week, but Florida is just too good. I expect this game to look a lot like the Texas A&M game.

Top 25
1Alabama at LSU (postponed)
2Notre Dame at Boston College
3Ohio State at Maryland (canceled)
4Clemson BYE
5Texas A&M at Tennessee (postponed to Dec 12)
Arkansas at 6Florida
7Cincinnati 55 East Carolina 17
8BYU BYE
9Miami at Virginia Tech
10Indiana at Michigan State
11Oregon at Washington State
12Georgia at Missouri (postponed)
13Wisconsin at Michigan
14Oklahoma State BYE
15Coastal Carolina at Troy (postponed)
Middle Tennessee at 16Marshall
17Iowa State BYE
18Oklahoma BYE
19SMU at Tulsa
20USC at Arizona
21Texas BYE
Western Carolina at 22Liberty
23Northwestern at Purdue
24Auburn at Mississippi State (postponed to Dec 12)
South Alabama at 25Louisiana

Other Games
South Carolina at Ole Miss
Oregon State at Washington
TCU at West Virginia
USF at Houston
Louisville at Virginia
Wake Forest at North Carolina
Vanderbilt at Kentucky
Colorado at Stanford
Baylor at Texas Tech

Covid-19 Postponements/Cancelations
1Alabama at LSU
3Ohio State at Maryland (canceled)
5Texas A&M at Tennessee
12Georgia at Missouri
15Coastal Carolina at Troy
24Auburn at Mississippi State
Memphis at Navy
Air Force at Wyoming (canceled)
ULM at Arkansas State
California at Arizona State (canceled)
Utah at UCLA (canceled)
North Texas at UAB
Rice at Louisiana Tech
Pittsburgh at Georgia Tech