Here is a look at the some of the action in the SEC and ACC for this Saturday.
ALABAMA 42 COLORADO STATE 14: Tide fans need to realize that the quarterback A J McCarron and his offense can carry this team until the defense grows up. The secondary that was torched by Texas A&M’s Johnny Manziel will be fine by the time LSU comes to Tuscaloosa by November. The Tide will have defensive back Deion Belue back by Ole Miss.
LSU 42 AUBURN 10: Auburn coach Gus Malzahn has done a nice job improving Auburn since last season. The last-minute win over Mississippi State last week could be pivotal to reach a bowl game. Tiger quarterback Nick Marshall is taking baby steps so his game-winning touchdown pass was instrumental in his development. Still, Auburn does not have the roster to beat LSU. Coach Les Miles has his team playing in midseason form already. The offense is clicking with a competent vertical passing game along with the typical bruising running attack. LSU quarterback Zach Mettenberger has nine touchdowns and zero picks.
FLORIDA 24 TENNESSEE 10: The Gators had a week off to recover from the Miami loss. Florida quarterback Jeff Driskel must show improvement after throwing two picks against the Canes. Victories are not pretty under coach Will Muschamp, but the Gator win streak should reach nine straight over the Vols. Coach Butch Jones will eventually get the job done, but he knew how tough the Oregon and Florida stretch would be. Jones is still trying to find a consistent quarterback between Justin Worley and Nathan Peterman. Tennessee has not beaten a ranked opponent on the road since winning at Georgia in 2006.
ARKANSAS 24 RUTGERS 21: The Hogs, along with Auburn, are the surprise of the league so far. Coach Bret Bielema has found a quick fix with the running attack. Jonathan Williams and Alex Collins have been on fire both averaging over 100 yards rushing per game. There are questions on the availability of quarterback Brandon Allen who bruised his shoulder on a five-yard touchdown plunge early in the last week’s win.
GEORGIA 52 NORTH TEXAS 7: After a week off, the Bulldogs return with a tune-up before facing LSU next week. Bulldog quarterback Aaron Murray’s next touchdown pass will be No. 100in his career. The only other SEC quarterback with 100 is Florida’s Danny Wuerffel with 114.
MISSISSIPPPI STATE 24 TROY 17: After a disappointing loss to Auburn, State is trying to rebound behind quarterback Dak Prescott,
who is a more of a true dual-threat quarterback instead of Tyler Russell.
GEORGIA TECH 24 NORTH CAROLINA 21: Georgia Tech has won 13 of the last 15 against North
Carolina. Hope you are sitting down for this one. In last week’s win over, Tech quarterback Vad Lee threw four touchdown passes. There have been times when Tech didn’t have four touchdown passes in a month.
FSU 59 BETHUNE-COOKMAN 0: Can you believe that this past Wednesday was the 25th anniversary of the FSU-Clemson Puntrooskie. The Noles demonstrated a powerful running game last week in the Nevada win by totaling more than 300 yards for only the third time in history. Quarterback Jameis Winston has completed 40 of 50 passes this season.