Every Friday through the end of the seasons we will be breaking down all of the local football games of the week and highlighting a few of the other games of note for the weekend. We won't be predicting the outcomes here, we will leave that for all of you in the comment section.
College Football:
Baylor Bears @ Colorado Buffaloes - Boulder, CO - 5:00 FCS
Colorado Pick
Buffaloes fans had high hopes last weekend as Colorado headed to Missouri with hopes of getting past the road losing streak and moving to 4-1 on the season. Unfortunately the game against the Tigers followed a familiar script with the Buffs getting shut out and looking inept on offense and the defense having to try and hold off the Mizzou attack for as long as they could.
While last weekend was a huge disappointment that lost most of the good will that the win over Georgia had garnered, this time is still right on schedule with most optimist's projections. This opening schedule was not an easy start, in fact it was probably one of the hardest first five games in the country. Georgia will still end up being a solid bowl team when all is said and done and Hawaii is rolling with an offense that looks to be nearly unstoppable.
In order to stay on track for a bowl appearance, Colorado will have to take care of a better than expected Baylor Bears team in Boulder on Saturday. Many expected the Bears to better this season with the return of Robert Griffin III, but the Baylor offense has proven to be even better than advertised, putting 55 and 38 points in their last two games against Big 12 competition. The CU defense held the Hawaii offense to 18 points less than their next lowest output this season and a similar performance will be needed against Baylor.
The Buffaloes offense, possibly rattled by the goose egg in Columbia and the quarterback shake-up that took place, will need another solid home effort with at least 28 points probably needed for the win. Rodney Stewart will need to run hard and stay healthy (with backup running back Brian Lockridge out for the season) and quarterback Tyler Hansen has to get the ball to wide receivers Toney Clemons and Travon Patterson.
For the Buffs, this game could determine whether or not they are traveling or sitting at home this bowl season.
Air Force Falcons @ San Diego State Aztecs - San Diego, CA - 6:00 CBS College Sports
Air Force -1
Of course, the goal for San Diego State is also to stop the run. Air Force is running the triple option extremely efficiently this season behind Tim Jefferson, who also has become a threat to throw it when necessary.BYU gouged San Diego State for 271 yards on the ground last week, but defensive coordinator Rocky Long said there is nothing that can be taken from those numbers because the run schemes are so different. He also pointed out that BYU carried the ball 62 times for a 4.4-yard average.But what he does want to see is better tackling, which slipped against the Cougars. Coach Brady Hoke wants his team to be more physical at the point of attack, something that was also lacking against BYU.
UNLV Rebels @ Colorado State Rams - Ft. Collins, CO - 12:00 The Mtn
Colorado State -3
Other Games Of Note:
#21 Missouri vs Texas A&M - College Station, TX - 10:00 FSN
Texas @ #5 Nebraska - Lincoln, NE - 1:30 ABC
#12 Arkansas @ #7 Auburn - Auburn, AL - 1:30 CBS
#1 Ohio State @ #18 Wisconsin - Madison, WI - 5:00 ESPN
#19 Nevada @ Hawaii -Honolulu, HI - 9:30 ESPN3
NFL:
Broncos +3
Here's the thing about the Broncos defense. It's a team sport and this team has yet to play in sync except against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 2. If you look back on the last three games, you will find the Broncos defense played extremely well for long periods of each game. The problem was, the offense consistently failed to get anything going during those long stretches of good defensive play. Then once the defense began to falter, the offense would suddenly get things going again. Teams are supposed to feed off each other at the same time, but the Broncos appear to feed off each others failures. The offense fails, the defense steps it up...the defense fails, the offense steps it up. How about you guys both step it up and put your collective boot heels on Rex Ryan's throat, eh?Against the Indianapolis Colts, the defense held the line at 13-10 late into the third quarter, but failure after failure by the offense to execute and the Broncos defense finally got burned on two drives by Peyton Manning. Broncos lose.Against the Tennessee Titans, the defense struggled in the second and third quarters, but the offense was on a roll. The defense stepped it up in the fourth and the offense finally kept things going. The Broncos come back to win.Against the Baltimore Ravens, the defense struggled early and dug themselves in a hole, but stepped it up late in the second and through the third quarter, while the offense fails to capitalize and both units get dominated late. Broncos lose.
Other Games Of Note:
Baltimore Ravens @ New England Patriots - Foxboro, MA - 11:00 NFL Sunday Ticket
Atlanta Falcons @ Philadelphia Eagles - Philadelphia, PA - 11:00 Fox
Dallas Cowboys @ Minnesota Vikings - Minneapolis, MN - 2:15 NFL Sunday Ticket
Loading comments...