Trent's Touchdown - Week 3

This may sound strange, but the freshman quarterback’s out there definitely showed some poise and resilience in Week 2. With Kyle Parker nearly leading Clemson back while on the road in Georgia Tech to both Matt Barkley and Tate Forcier leading their teams back in 4th quarter rallies to win, these freshmen are making an impact. Makes you wonder why upperclassmen can’t get it done. But more on this later. Now, on to the Touchdown.

1) Tennessee at No. 1 Florida – 3:30 on CBS

Everything in me tells me this is going to be a blow-out, but for some reason I can’t buy into it. For one thing, you have Lane Kiffin’s remarks about beating Florida and Urban Meyer’s recruiting practices. The last thing you want to do is give Florida any bulletin board material.

For a second thing, the Tennessee quarterback is Jonathan Crompton. I would say I don’t trust him, but that pretty much goes without saying seeing as he is the Tennessee QB. Maybe Vols fans can help me here, but I can’t remember a Tennessee QB that was ever trustworthy.

But if you look past all the pesky facts, you have to think this will be a hard fought game. Tennessee has the whole “nobody believes in us” thing going for them. Plus, minus the diarrhea of the mouth, Kiffin is a good coach. Add on to that that Florida has pretty much had extended practice the last two games, this could equal something exciting. The defending champs will win, but expect some interesting stuff.

2) No. 14 Georgia Tech at No. 20 Miami – 7:30 on ESPN on Sept 17

Am I the only one who thinks that it’s unfair that you have three good teams in the ACC Coastal Division vying for the title while the winner of the Atlantic Division will be whoever messes up the least? Okay, just wanted to make sure.

I, for one, am a little shocked that Miami has started their turnaround this early. They will have problems with well-rounded teams, but they are good at keying to the run and shutting it down.

GT loves to run the ball. I nearly spit out my beer when I saw Nesbitt’s passing numbers against Clemson last week. I seriously thought the folks in the stat’s area at ESPN were making a joke. Plus, GT seems to lack the ability to finish off teams. That Clemson game should have been over by the half.

Miami will need to spread the ball on offense and limit dumb mistakes. If they key on the GT running game, they should be able to stop it. Expect it to stay close, but Miami will pull away with this one to give them a leg up on the rest of the ACC.

3) No. 19 Nebraska at No. 13 Virginia Tech – 3:30 on ABC

Man, if I keep putting ACC teams on this list, people might actually think it’s a good conference. However, you need to give VT credit for the non-conference schedule.

However, this game comes down to defense. You have the really good defense of VT and the “could be good in the future” defense of Nebraska. Nebraska really needs to be able to stop the run on the first few series and they should be good, thanks to the need of Tyrod Taylor to prove to people that he can throw.

On offense, Nebraska needs to be able to have a balanced attack, but willing to attack via the air at will when the VT defense steps up and stops the run. The good thing for Nebraska is that VT has an offensive style consistent with the middle of the road teams in their own division, so they should be used to it. They win, but it’s nowhere near as close as the score will indicate.

4) No. 3 USC at Washington – 3:30 on ABC

Yeah, yeah, I know what you’re thinking, but I think this has the possibility to be the best game on Saturday. Of course, it could be another USC blow-out. But, let’s break this thing down.

USC proved during the OSU game that they can stop the run but still have some issues stopping an inconsistent QB. Jake Locker is not Terrelle Pryor. If fact, the two should never be mentioned in the same sentence, as it insults Locker. Locker also has one of the top-flight offensive geniuses in his corner in Steve Sarkisian.

USC has a question mark at QB. Matt Barkley took a nasty hit in the OSU game and has a sore shoulder. Aaron Corp is looking to take his place if needed. This is a two pronged issue for USC. You can have either a less than 100% Barkley going for you or Corp, who may try to do too many things to prove he should be the starter.

Washington is making leaps and bounds in the defensive area and could disrupt a USC offense that is still trying to find its rhythm. Put a gun to my head, and I’ll take USC. Sit with me on Saturday and I’ll be rooting for Washington.

5) Florida State at No. 7 BYU – 7:00 on local channels

Mad props go to BYU as well for their non-conference schedule. They want to be taken seriously and FSU and Oklahoma will make people see them in a whole new light

This is really a tale of two programs. BYU is surging. Max Hall and the BYU offense is making people sit up and take notice. They have a defense that is able to keep good offenses in check and won’t make stupid mistakes. Even if the did, Hall is more than capable to win a shoot-out.

FSU on the other hand is looking pretty lame. The loss to the youthful Miami is one thing, but the near loss to Jacksonville State was just sad. I was embarrassed just watching it. Christian Ponder reminds me a lot of Drew Weatherford, good arm and good stats, but will fold like a lawn chair when the going gets tough.

BYU wins and wins big. They get more publicity and FSU starts to fade even earlier than normal and people being the “Does Bowden still have it?” discussion sometime during the 2nd quarter blowout loss to Georgia Tech.

6) Texas Tech at No. 2 Texas – 8:00 on ABC

I’m going to start listening to AC/DC’s “Rock and Roll Train” on a continuous loop starting sometime on Friday. When I start watching the game, I’m going to squint and pretend I see Harrell and Crabtree. I will also pretend that Texas is the same flawed team they were last year as they blow-out Texas Tech and I start debating whether to watch Eureka or Supernatural on my DVR.

Extra Point:

7) Sometime during Matt Barkley’s drive against OSU last week, I started wondering why freshmen QB’s were given the helm of some teams. Teams like USC have no problem recruiting, but they have three guys right now who could start and they would have no problems. Plus, they have top flight QB’s like Mitch Mustain transferring there from relatively safe spots like Arkansas (of course, if I got replaced by Casey Dick, I would leave too). Normally, you transfer to lesser schools (see Jevan Snead), not into fierce competition. Mustain’s idiocy got me thinking.

I say we petition the NCAA to let Mitch Mustain transfer again to Ohio State and not only not lose another year of eligibility, but let him start next week for them. OSU has a good team with a horrid QB. Mustain is not going to do anything but ride the pines for the rest of his time at USC. This is win-win for everyone. Plus, I might stop hating OSU. Okay, I probably won’t, but it’s worth a shot.