Tyler Stearns |
This weekend of college football is highly anticipated. The headliner is Ohio State versus Oregon, followed by LSU versus Ole Miss, Texas versus Oklahoma, USC versus Penn State, and Kansas State versus Colorado. Let's predict the winners of each of these matchups.
Ohio State versus Oregon has been the most anticipated B1G game in recent memory. Aside from 'The Game' Ohio State rarely faces equal competition in their conference. The past three years, they have gone undefeated in the B1g and only had one regular season loss (to Oregon in 2021) aside from the three losses to Michigan. Oregon, on the other hand, hasn't been as dominant but has drastically improved under Dan Lanning. He has made the Ducks into an electric yet physical football team. And after this offseason, where he brought in QB Dillon Gabriel, along with WR Evan Stewart, he now has his best roster at Oregon. This game is going to be great, it is going to have fireworks. Both teams have solid defenses, but the offensive firepower of both the Buckeyes and the Ducks will overwhelm the other side of the ball for each team. The keys to this game will be who can run the football the best, and who can stop the run the best. They both can throw the football, but both of their offenses rely on their run games to open up play-action and RPOs. Oregon's run defense has been shotty, but much of that tape came against Ashton Jeanty, the best RB in the nation. Ohio State's however, is arguably the best in the country. Despite Iowa's poor offense, they shut down Kaleb Johnson, who has been arguably the second-best rusher in the country this year. Going off of the tape at the moment, Ohio State should win soundly. Ohio State 38 - Oregon 21.
LSU versus Ole Miss is a bit of an overrated matchup. Both have lost a game to an unranked opponent (though USC beat the Tigers when they were ranked 23rd), but their wins have been vastly different. LSU has beaten poor teams but hasn't been dominant in any sense of the word. They nearly, and likely should have lost to South Carolina, since they were bailed out with penalties. They struggled early against UCLA but pulled away. And they were strong against South Alabama but didn't score enough points to have all worries go away. Ole Miss, on the other hand, lost to a good Kentucky team and dominated South Carolina along with the other 'gimme' games on their schedule. The game being at LSU in Death Valley will be a factor, but Ole MIss's offensive firepower and improved defense will help the Rebels to a win. Ole Miss 27 - 17 LSU.
The Red River Rivalry tends to be great, even if one of the teams is weaker than usual. But that usually happens when the defenses are bad and the offenses are great. But this year, Texas has an amazing offense and defense, whereas Oklahoma has a bad offense and a subpar defense. Texas will handle Oklahoma in this game. Quinn Ewers is back for the Longhorns, which will help them revert to their dominant offense before his injury. Arch was great when he stepped up but is too inexperienced to handle the scheme to perfection as Ewers does. Michael Hawkins will start for Oklahoma, which means they will rely on the run game throughout. But as we saw versus Michigan, Texas can shut down one-dimensional teams. It will be that way tomorrow. Texas 45 - Oklahoma 20.
USC has struggled against the B1G this year. After their loss to Michigan, they have been dominated in the first half, and their second-half resilience only worked against Wisconsin, where they scored 28 unanswered points in the third and fourth quarters. That didn't work against Minnesota, though, as their gameplan failed them as they fell to the 2-3 Gophers. Now, they head into a game against a B1G giant where their strengths are the Trojans's weaknesses. USC's offensive line is poor, and Penn State's defensive line is strong. USC's run defense isn't solid, and Penn State's run game is one of the best in the country. The only way USC can win this game is if they stop the run and run the ball efficiently themselves. Miller Moss hasn't had time in the pocket and likely won't have time to throw against the Nittany Lions. Penn State will win. Penn State 28 - USC 13.
Colorado has had a complete turnaround this year. After dropping an early game to their rival, the Nebraska Cornhuskers, where their offense couldn't generate any consistent drives or big plays, they have completely turned around and played some great football. After dominating Colorado State, they scored a win against Baylor with a hail mary on the last play of regulation. Many thought they would be blown out by UCF, but Colorado's defense shut down the run and forced KJ Jefferson to make plays with his arm, which they couldn't do. Their offensive and defensive lines have been great, but much of the reason they have been able to play with confidence is because of Travis Hunter, who is a Heisman frontrunner. Kansas State comes to town this weekend boasting an electric offense, but an average defense. Kansas State's resume is blemished only by BYU, whose defense shut them down. If Colorado can show a similar defensive identity to the Cougars when they play the Wildcats, they should be able to take them down. Colorado 21 - Kansas State 18.
Week 7 and 8 are highly anticipated days for College Football, where each has important playoff implications and big-time matchups. This weekend will show us who has a chance at the new 12-team CFP, and who doesn't.
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