Week One Card (August 28 - Sept 1)

[Irish]

Vandy (+3) over Ol Miss
Vandy was a very strong home team last year. Although they lost some talent from last years team they return a solid offensive line and six defensive starters that held teams to 10 points per game. A new QB for Vandy is a question but Carta-Samuels is no freshman. The kid is a solid QB transfer from Wyoming where he was a starter at one time. He has a lot of talent to throw to but someone has to pick up the slack in the running game. That is Tata, good runner with speed and vision but he is not Stacy. This is a good test but I like what Franklin has done at Vandy and I think he continues to build on it.
Home, SEC game one... This is the type of game Vandy should win. I will take three and see if they are as good as the coaches are saying.

Cheers
Irish

 

[Corley1011]

:toast:

 

[capping-guru]

Great to see you back in here! Always check your plays, great write ups, year in and out! GL this season!

 

[Destructor D]

Leaning Vandy, home crowd should be jacked and catching over a FG currently. Should be a close game and think Ole Miss getting too much credit with turnover prone Wallace at QB (had SEC high 17 INT's last year). Vandy has won 3 straight in the series and Franklin has done an amazing job resurrecting this program. Ole Miss will probably be on probation soon as how did Freeze produce arguably top freshman class in country. Ole Miss kids still don't play much defense where Vandy allowed just 18.7 PPG last year, not 10 Irish as you stated. Vandy should win, but I'll grab 3.5

 

[Irish]

South Carolina (-13) over UNC
I ws going back and fourth on this game all week. The high tempo offense of UNC vs a Defense of SC that has to replace six starters. The fast tempo can really hurt a pass rush but I am looking at the match up on the lines. North Carolina must replace three starters on the offensive line who were selected in the 2013 Draft. This is where I think even if UNC goes fast they will still struggle to Keep the QB up right. Looking at the match up this is a start of the season game. Who can make plays when things break down and I believe thats Shaw for SC with his legs. Can South Carolina live up to the hype or will they play tight and struggle. IMO SC has more talent, speed and power. Looking at UNC from last year you could see the player on the field that turned heads was the RB, without him they lack game breaking speed. The heat will be a factor but SC can rotate top notch players in and out while UNC does not have that depth. Thursday night under Coach Spurrier have a 5-1 record at home. The Gamecocks are 6-1 in games played in the month of August, including a 4-1 record at home.

Should be interesting.

Cheers
Irish

 

[Irish]

1-1 - thought Vandy had that game.

Texas Tech (-3) over SMU
For the first time in Ford Stadium history, the facility's ticket sales office will be closed on game day. I'll bet more than likely there will be a lot of double guns in the crowd. This is an interesting game. I think Texas Tech has a pretty good pass defense and they are going to have to prove defense against the pass with Jones mustang offense and a returning QB. Obviously the QB edge goes to SMU but the line advantage goes to Tech. They play a wide gap technique and I think it will be tough for SMU to get home. Looking at the coaching battle first year head coach for Tech brings a lot of skill and knowledge. He proved while playing he knows how to showcase the air raid system. He showed at A&M he can be a good play caller. This is a big opportunity for him to showcase the game plan even with a young QB. The edge in the running game goes to Tech and as I said that wide split will open up holes for big gains. Tech lost talent at WR but have depth to have the advantage in the passing game. The biggest question is how the young Tech QB will do? We given Tech's coach last year he knows how to game plan to get the best out of an athletic young QB. I bought it down to three but I think Tech is the better play. Looking at this I have to give the coaching advantage to Kliff even though Jones is an offensive guru. Texas Tech should be able to make more plays on offense and defense. They have a few more special talent players in this match up.

Miami (-31.5) over Florida Atlantic
This is just a talent play. As always I expect Miami to under achieve but they are loaded.Ten starters return from an offense that averaged just over 440 yards per game. They have speed, depth on defense and a returning QB. They also have a great running back. The Miami offense will also benefit from the return of the entire starting offensive line from 2012. The question is can Golden get the players to play. This is a ton of chalk for a team that I think could struggle out of the gate. Still they may see this as an opportunity to set the tempo for the season. 10 starters returning on the defensive side. As I said this team has a ton of up side but they also have a lot of questions. Fla atl has holes to fill and they have turned to some JUCO players but I like the canes to show dominance across the board. Florida Atlantic is young, inexperienced and on the road. Miami's home field isn't overpowering but it should be enough tonight. A lot of Florida players on display but the top talent in Florida is not wearing owl colors. WHO WHO WHO is going to be heard by some of the Owl players when trying to keep up and find the Miami offense. OR the hurricanes are going to go into the game saying don't they know WHO we are and will be out played but I am banking on Golden getting his guys ready after a let down last year.

Cheers
Irish

 

[Irish]

2-2 so far - can someone tell me how Miami did not kick a FG with 3 mins to play and even when they went for it it looked like the RB crossed the GL??

FSU (-11.5) over Pitt
The Panthers will face a retooled Florida State offense that averaged 39.3 points (10th in FBS) and 470.8 yards in 2012. Jameis Winston..... What is it gonna be superstar or super letdown. This kid has been in a battle all off season with Coker but in the end he won the job. The nice thing is he can rely on some great talent at RB and a line that can be one of the best in the ACC. That being said they are not going against a pancake. Pitt returns eight starters from a defense that ranked 17th nationally in fewest yards allowed last season (330.5 avg.). Still that being said FSU is not UCONN or Rutgers. Speaking of Rutgers . Savage?s last game action came at Rutgers during the 2010 season. The kid can play but I don't think he is ready for what FSU is going to bring to the table in terms of aggressive defense. Pruitt's new aggressive, multiple-style defense has shaken up the depth chart with its moving parts and various formations aimed at disrupting opposing offenses and creating more turnovers. His style of defense is going to keep Pitt completely off balance. I do not have a lot of faith in the Pitt running game so I think this will be a tough day for Pitt to move the ball. Looking at this game I think pitt has some defense but not enough. Winston can run the ball and can throw the ball. Too much for Pitt to game plan against. I am not sold on the Pitt coaching staff but I think FSU is more seasoned and better at planning to disrupt. Should be a fun game because FSU is on the road but Heinze field is not the most difficult place to play and FSU is the better team in almost every department.

Cheers
Irish