College football is better when Miami and Notre Dame play.
Week 9 has some intriguing match-ups including Clemson at Floirda State, Northwestern at Ohio State
Miami Hurricanes at Notre Dame Fighting Irish: Its Catholics vs. Convicts 2016. The only difference is, neither program is that good right now so this game won’t be as good as some clashes between these two teams were in the 80’s.
I like Miami in this game. Despite their recent struggles, I think the Canes will pick a much needed win in South Bend. Notre Dame can’t score and their lack of offense will once again be an issue for them.
Prediction: Miami 24 Notre Dame 17
#14 Florida Gators at Georgia Bulldogs: It is the world’s largest cocktail party. I smell an upset here. Despite being ranked 14th in the country, I don’t buy the Gators.
Luke Del Rio has struggled at times at quarterbacks and the Gator offense can be wildly inconsistent. I know the defense is elite, but I have a feeling that Georgia freshmen quarterback Jacob Eason will find a way to exploit them with some big plays and lead the Dawgs to the upset win.
Prediction: Georgia 28 Florida 24
#4 Washington Huskies at #17 Utah Utes: Chris Pederson’s Huskies are entering the Hornets nest when they travel to Salt Lake City to battle the Utes. Utah is well coached on both sides of the ball. Offensively, the Utes are only averaging 30.6 points per game but they are efficient on offense. Quarterback Troy Williams is a dual threat who will stress the Huskies defense with his ability to run.
Defensively, the Utes give up 21.6 points per game but Kyle Whittingham’s bunch is stingy in the red zone. They’ll bend but they won’t break.
Despite all of this and what is sure to be raucous crowd, I like the Huskies in this game. It is hard to pick against quarterback quarterback Jake Browning and the nation’s fourth best offense (48.3 points per game) I think the Huskies will score plenty of points and the defense will shut down Williams and the Ute offense.
I like the Huskies to pick up a big conference win in this one.
Prediction: Washington 38 Utah 17
#7 Nebraska Cornhuskers at #11 Wisconsin Badgers: People have been wondering if Nebraska is for real. We’ll find out this weekend when they travel to Camp Randall to battle the Badgers.
Wisconsin almost beat Ohio State two weeks ago and they played Michigan tough at the Big House earlier this month. Corey Clement and company are more than capable of winning this game.
I want to buy Tommie Armstrong and the Huskers but I can’t. I just don’t think they are good enough to go into Camp Randall and get a win. The Huskers haven’t won in Madison since 1966 and I don’t see them winning this weekend.
Prediction: Wisconsin 28 Nebraska 24
#3 Clemson Tigers at #12 Florida State Seminoles: The Noles are in a groove again. Jimbo Fisher’s squad appears to be back on track after a tough home loss to North Carolina a few weeks back.
Dalvin Cook and the running game are once again the catalyst for the Noles offense. Florida State has been able to run the football consistently and it has helped their offense get back on track but it has also taken pressure off of the defense. Florida State will need to move the ball on a consistent basis if they want to if they want to keep up with the Tigers and win this game.
For Clemson, there is good chance they’ll be playing without Wayne Gallman in this game. If that is the case, their running game will struggle against the Noles front seven that is quick and can make plays behind the line of scrimmage. DeShaun Watson will have to shoulder some of the load on the ground.
These two ACC rivals have played some tight games in recent years and this one should be no different. This will be a back and forth affair but in the end, I am going with Clemson. I just think Watson and the Tigers are the better football team and they’ll prove it in this game.
Prediction: Clemson 31 Florida State 28