ON CAMPUS IN OHIO: WEEK 3
By Bucklion
Week 2 Synopsis: The excitement of Ohio’s historic 16-10 overtime victory over Pittsburgh awakened hopes of a dominating performance by state schools last weekend. Such optimism, however, was met with a difficult reality: the state of Ohio came up painfully short on Saturday. The Buckeyes were unable to put Texas away, Cincinnati got blown out at Happy Valley, Miami inexplicably lost to Central Michigan, Akron gave up 49 at Purdue, and Bowling Green struggled mightily with lowly Ball State. Only Toledo, who impressively knocked around Western Michigan, and Kent State, who won game over a I-AA team, ended up in the win column. Many local teams face stiff tests this week, as they try and get back on track.
Week 3 State Rankings:
1 (-) Ohio State (1-1): The Buckeyes lost a heartbreaker to Texas, but still proved they are among the nation’s elite. San Diego State awaits.
2 (-) Toledo (2-0, 1-0): Pounded on Western Michigan, getting the conference season off to a good start. Temple will be this week’s fodder.
3 (-) Bowling Green (1-1, 1-0): The Falcons followed up a terrible defensive performance at Wisconsin with an equally bad performance at Ball State. The Falcons are off this week as they try and figure a way to defend Boise State.
4 (+4) Ohio (1-1): What a fabulous win over Pittsburgh. This week? Only at Blacksburg to play #4 Virginia Tech.
5 (+2) Kent State (1-1): A I-AA win leads to a showdown with Miami this week to open conference play. The D will be tested.
6 (-) Akron (0-1): Akron was pesky, but eventually gave up too many points at Purdue. They travel to underrated Sun Belt team Middle Tennessee State this week.
7 (-2) Cincinnati (1-1): Blown out at Penn State…got burned deep repeatedly, and had trouble moving the ball until the game was out of hand. They get a needed respite entertaining I-AA Western Carolina this week.
8 (-4) Miami (0-2, 0-1): Horrible loss to Central Michigan. They travel to Kent this week in what has become a must-win game.
Head-To-Head Matchups: Week 3
(NOTE: Upset alert is from 0-10, with 10 being “Red Alert…better concentrate on these guys” and 0 being “Here’s your 400 thousand for an ass-whuppin’….thanks for coming”)
Prediction record: 8-4 SU, 4-7 VL
Saturday
Toledo (2-0) at Temple (0-2)
Line: Toledo -28 ½
Upset Alert: 0
Synopsis: Ugh. Temple has come off two games where they gave up more than 60. They are without a conference and without much hope this season. Toledo looks like a pretty good squad right now, and they can pile on the points. Toledo wins a laugher.
Prediction: Toledo 63, Temple 17
Ohio (1-1) at Virginia Tech (2-0, 2-0)
Line: Virginia Tech -33 ½
Upset Alert: 0
Synopsis: Virginia Tech is a good team. They are coming off of an impressive win at NC State and a 45-0 blowout of Duke. Ohio won a nice game Friday, but they didn’t score an offensive point…just like Virginia Tech’s last opponent. Ohio might be competitive for a while, but they will crash back to earth this week.
Prediction: Virginia Tech 45, Ohio 10
San Diego State (0-2) at Ohio State (1-1)
Line: Ohio State -28
Upset Alert: 0
Synopsis: The Buckeyes lost an absolute heartbreaker Saturday. Still, the D played out of this world, and the team still has some hope to get to the title game if they win out. San Diego State has a decent offense, but very little defensively. The Aztecs have been pesky in the past, but the Buckeyes will bounce back strong here.
Prediction: Ohio State 45, San Diego State 13
Miami (0-2, 0-1) at Kent State (1-1)
Line: Miami -5
Upset Alert: 6
Synopsis: Is anyone more disappointed after 2 weeks than Miami? High hopes for a historic upset at Ohio State fell flat, and the letdown carried over into their conference opener, dropping the game to lightly regarded Central Michigan. Enter Kent State, who was blown out in game 1 and beat a I-AA team game two, so they are still a largely unknown commodity. The Kent defense will be game for this one, but the offense is weak, and one has to surmise that the RedHawks will bounce back in this one…if not, it could be a freefall for Miami.
Prediction: Miami 27, Ken State 20
Akron (0-1) at Middle Tennessee State (0-2, 0-1)
Line: NA
Upset Alert: NA
Synopsis: Akron comes off a loss at Purdue. Middle Tennessee comes off a heartbreaker to conference frontrunner North Texas at home, 14-7. This could be a big letdown for Middle Tennessee, and they’ve underachieved before, especially after losing to North Texas. Akron looked better than people expected last week, and they should be able to go down there and win.
Prediction: Akron 24, MTSU 17
Western Carolina (2-0) at Cincinnati (1-1)
Line: NA
Upset Alert: 2
Synopsis: Cincinnati follows up a loss at Penn State by entertaining Western Carolina. Make no mistake, though: WCU is no pushover, having beaten I-AA powerhouse Furman handily last week. This game will be closer than a lot of people think, but the Bearcats should get the W.
Prediction: Cincinnati 24, Western Carolina 13
By Bucklion
Week 2 Synopsis: The excitement of Ohio’s historic 16-10 overtime victory over Pittsburgh awakened hopes of a dominating performance by state schools last weekend. Such optimism, however, was met with a difficult reality: the state of Ohio came up painfully short on Saturday. The Buckeyes were unable to put Texas away, Cincinnati got blown out at Happy Valley, Miami inexplicably lost to Central Michigan, Akron gave up 49 at Purdue, and Bowling Green struggled mightily with lowly Ball State. Only Toledo, who impressively knocked around Western Michigan, and Kent State, who won game over a I-AA team, ended up in the win column. Many local teams face stiff tests this week, as they try and get back on track.
Week 3 State Rankings:
1 (-) Ohio State (1-1): The Buckeyes lost a heartbreaker to Texas, but still proved they are among the nation’s elite. San Diego State awaits.
2 (-) Toledo (2-0, 1-0): Pounded on Western Michigan, getting the conference season off to a good start. Temple will be this week’s fodder.
3 (-) Bowling Green (1-1, 1-0): The Falcons followed up a terrible defensive performance at Wisconsin with an equally bad performance at Ball State. The Falcons are off this week as they try and figure a way to defend Boise State.
4 (+4) Ohio (1-1): What a fabulous win over Pittsburgh. This week? Only at Blacksburg to play #4 Virginia Tech.
5 (+2) Kent State (1-1): A I-AA win leads to a showdown with Miami this week to open conference play. The D will be tested.
6 (-) Akron (0-1): Akron was pesky, but eventually gave up too many points at Purdue. They travel to underrated Sun Belt team Middle Tennessee State this week.
7 (-2) Cincinnati (1-1): Blown out at Penn State…got burned deep repeatedly, and had trouble moving the ball until the game was out of hand. They get a needed respite entertaining I-AA Western Carolina this week.
8 (-4) Miami (0-2, 0-1): Horrible loss to Central Michigan. They travel to Kent this week in what has become a must-win game.
Head-To-Head Matchups: Week 3
(NOTE: Upset alert is from 0-10, with 10 being “Red Alert…better concentrate on these guys” and 0 being “Here’s your 400 thousand for an ass-whuppin’….thanks for coming”)
Prediction record: 8-4 SU, 4-7 VL
Saturday
Toledo (2-0) at Temple (0-2)
Line: Toledo -28 ½
Upset Alert: 0
Synopsis: Ugh. Temple has come off two games where they gave up more than 60. They are without a conference and without much hope this season. Toledo looks like a pretty good squad right now, and they can pile on the points. Toledo wins a laugher.
Prediction: Toledo 63, Temple 17
Ohio (1-1) at Virginia Tech (2-0, 2-0)
Line: Virginia Tech -33 ½
Upset Alert: 0
Synopsis: Virginia Tech is a good team. They are coming off of an impressive win at NC State and a 45-0 blowout of Duke. Ohio won a nice game Friday, but they didn’t score an offensive point…just like Virginia Tech’s last opponent. Ohio might be competitive for a while, but they will crash back to earth this week.
Prediction: Virginia Tech 45, Ohio 10
San Diego State (0-2) at Ohio State (1-1)
Line: Ohio State -28
Upset Alert: 0
Synopsis: The Buckeyes lost an absolute heartbreaker Saturday. Still, the D played out of this world, and the team still has some hope to get to the title game if they win out. San Diego State has a decent offense, but very little defensively. The Aztecs have been pesky in the past, but the Buckeyes will bounce back strong here.
Prediction: Ohio State 45, San Diego State 13
Miami (0-2, 0-1) at Kent State (1-1)
Line: Miami -5
Upset Alert: 6
Synopsis: Is anyone more disappointed after 2 weeks than Miami? High hopes for a historic upset at Ohio State fell flat, and the letdown carried over into their conference opener, dropping the game to lightly regarded Central Michigan. Enter Kent State, who was blown out in game 1 and beat a I-AA team game two, so they are still a largely unknown commodity. The Kent defense will be game for this one, but the offense is weak, and one has to surmise that the RedHawks will bounce back in this one…if not, it could be a freefall for Miami.
Prediction: Miami 27, Ken State 20
Akron (0-1) at Middle Tennessee State (0-2, 0-1)
Line: NA
Upset Alert: NA
Synopsis: Akron comes off a loss at Purdue. Middle Tennessee comes off a heartbreaker to conference frontrunner North Texas at home, 14-7. This could be a big letdown for Middle Tennessee, and they’ve underachieved before, especially after losing to North Texas. Akron looked better than people expected last week, and they should be able to go down there and win.
Prediction: Akron 24, MTSU 17
Western Carolina (2-0) at Cincinnati (1-1)
Line: NA
Upset Alert: 2
Synopsis: Cincinnati follows up a loss at Penn State by entertaining Western Carolina. Make no mistake, though: WCU is no pushover, having beaten I-AA powerhouse Furman handily last week. This game will be closer than a lot of people think, but the Bearcats should get the W.
Prediction: Cincinnati 24, Western Carolina 13