GoPokes83
09-03-2009, 08:32 AM
Ehhhh.... Whatta they know?
It's statement time for the Big 12 as it tries to reestablish itself as a challenger to the SEC for the honor of being the nation's best conference. Dez Bryant and Oklahoma State came make the most noise against Georgia, while Oklahoma faces BYU, Missouri deals with Illinois, and Colorado battles Colorado State. Check out the CFN Big 12 Fearless Predictions.
Game of the Week
Georgia (0-0) at Oklahoma State (0-0),3:30 EST, ABC and ESPN GamePlan, Saturday, September 5
Why to watch: The Alabama – Virginia Tech tussle is supposed to be the best matchup of the opening weekend with both teams ranked in the top seven, but don’t believe it. The showdown between the Bulldogs and the Cowboys, the Big 12 and the SEC, is far more important on a national scale, at least it will be as the season rolls along, and is a huge moment for the two best conferences in college football (at the moment). For Oklahoma State, this is a chance to show it has arrived. It was strong throughout last season with its high-octane offense and a solid win at Missouri, but it got its doors blown off by Oklahoma (61-41) and Texas Tech (56-20) along with a 28-24 heartbreaker to Texas. Making matters worse was the loss to Oregon in the Holiday Bowl that fed fuel to the fire that OSU was all show and no substance. Beating Georgia would provide the one really, really big win the program needs to show that it belongs among the elite of the elite.
This is a statement game for the Big 12. If Oklahoma State can’t win at home against, arguably, the fourth best team in the SEC, then it’ll be hard for the league to get much in the way of national respect in the SEC vs. Big 12 debate.
For Georgia, this is a chance to show that the loss of Knowshon Moreno and Matthew Stafford really wasn’t all that big a deal. For a team that came into last season as the “it” squad, complete with a preseason No. 1 ranking, it had a disappointing year, even though it was a solid season by almost anyone else’s standards. Now the Dawgs get to fly in under the radar with Florida getting all the preseason respect, Lane Kiffin hogging the spotlight at Tennessee, and with several West teams, most notably, Ole Miss, being touted as players for the SEC title. Georgia has the talent to not just win the SEC, but to win it all if everything breaks the right way. However, just getting through the first half of the season will be a challenge with games against Arizona State, LSU, at Tennessee, at Arkansas, and against Florida as part of the slate after the trip to Stillwater. On the plus side, Georgia has been one of the nation’s premier road teams since Mark Richt took the reins as head coach and it will know how to handle the hostile environment and a frothing-at-the-mouth team looking to put a monster number on the board.
Why Georgia might win: Pound … the … rock. The big question mark will be the hamstring of No. 1 tailback, Caleb King, but he has been able to practice and could be a gametime decision. Even if he’s able to go the Dawgs have a slew of excellent runners, led by the slick Richard Samuel, to shine behind one of the nation’s best offensive lines. The Dawgs are deep, talented, and still improving up front helped by the return of NFL prospect Trinton Sturdivant from a knee injury. The OSU defensive front seven put up decent numbers against the run last season, but when push came to shove, it got flattened by Oregon and Oklahoma. Now it’ll be without starting LB Orie Lemon, who suffered a torn ACL, that’ll take away a key run stopper. Georgia needs to run for over 200 yards and control the game to win, and it should be able to.
Why Oklahoma State might win: Fine, so Georgia might end winning the time of possession battle, but that might partly be due to some quick strikes from the OSU offense. Georgia has NFL-caliber offensive weapons, but this isn’t likely to be an explosive attack from the get-go. QB Joe Cox is more of a move-the-chains type of passer and the Bulldog offense might have to rely on being opportunistic early on. If the defense isn’t forcing big mistakes, or if it’s not doing enough for the Dawgs to win the field position battle, Cox and the offense could be in comeback mode for most of the game. Considering the secondary could be Georgia’s shakiest unit coming into the season, at least compared to the rest of the loaded team, it could be bombs away. Just where does it say how we might win?
Who to watch: The NFL scouts will watch this game dozens of times over the next several months with the keenest eyes likely to be on the superstar wide receivers. Last season was supposed to be all about the arrival of top receiver prospect Julio Jones at Alabama, but Georgia then-freshman A.J. Green had the better year. He has the size, the speed, and the hands to make big play after big play to keep drives alive and to give the mediocre OSU secondary a nightmare of a day. On the other side, the spotlight will be on Dez Bryant, the breakout star of last season who’s being talked about as a possible top five overall pick if he comes out next season. The knock on him, unfair as it turned out to be, was that he was terrific against the mediocre teams and struggled against the elite. He lit up Oregon and scored twice against Oklahoma, but the top scouts will scratch their heads a bit if he’s held under wraps by the Bulldogs.
What will happen: The Cowboys will get their yards and their points, but the Dawgs will pull away in the fourth quarter. This will be a shootout by necessity for Georgia, with OSU getting up early and setting the tone with some home runs to fire up the base, but the Dawg O line and the running game will slowly lead the team back. The Georgia defense will come up with a few key turnovers, and a few bigger stops, to allow the Dawgs to escape from Stillwater after winning a classic.
CFN Prediction: Georgia 37 … Oklahoma State 35 ...
Line: Oklahoma State -6
Must See Rating: (Mad Men 5 … NYC Prep 1) … 5
It's statement time for the Big 12 as it tries to reestablish itself as a challenger to the SEC for the honor of being the nation's best conference. Dez Bryant and Oklahoma State came make the most noise against Georgia, while Oklahoma faces BYU, Missouri deals with Illinois, and Colorado battles Colorado State. Check out the CFN Big 12 Fearless Predictions.
Game of the Week
Georgia (0-0) at Oklahoma State (0-0),3:30 EST, ABC and ESPN GamePlan, Saturday, September 5
Why to watch: The Alabama – Virginia Tech tussle is supposed to be the best matchup of the opening weekend with both teams ranked in the top seven, but don’t believe it. The showdown between the Bulldogs and the Cowboys, the Big 12 and the SEC, is far more important on a national scale, at least it will be as the season rolls along, and is a huge moment for the two best conferences in college football (at the moment). For Oklahoma State, this is a chance to show it has arrived. It was strong throughout last season with its high-octane offense and a solid win at Missouri, but it got its doors blown off by Oklahoma (61-41) and Texas Tech (56-20) along with a 28-24 heartbreaker to Texas. Making matters worse was the loss to Oregon in the Holiday Bowl that fed fuel to the fire that OSU was all show and no substance. Beating Georgia would provide the one really, really big win the program needs to show that it belongs among the elite of the elite.
This is a statement game for the Big 12. If Oklahoma State can’t win at home against, arguably, the fourth best team in the SEC, then it’ll be hard for the league to get much in the way of national respect in the SEC vs. Big 12 debate.
For Georgia, this is a chance to show that the loss of Knowshon Moreno and Matthew Stafford really wasn’t all that big a deal. For a team that came into last season as the “it” squad, complete with a preseason No. 1 ranking, it had a disappointing year, even though it was a solid season by almost anyone else’s standards. Now the Dawgs get to fly in under the radar with Florida getting all the preseason respect, Lane Kiffin hogging the spotlight at Tennessee, and with several West teams, most notably, Ole Miss, being touted as players for the SEC title. Georgia has the talent to not just win the SEC, but to win it all if everything breaks the right way. However, just getting through the first half of the season will be a challenge with games against Arizona State, LSU, at Tennessee, at Arkansas, and against Florida as part of the slate after the trip to Stillwater. On the plus side, Georgia has been one of the nation’s premier road teams since Mark Richt took the reins as head coach and it will know how to handle the hostile environment and a frothing-at-the-mouth team looking to put a monster number on the board.
Why Georgia might win: Pound … the … rock. The big question mark will be the hamstring of No. 1 tailback, Caleb King, but he has been able to practice and could be a gametime decision. Even if he’s able to go the Dawgs have a slew of excellent runners, led by the slick Richard Samuel, to shine behind one of the nation’s best offensive lines. The Dawgs are deep, talented, and still improving up front helped by the return of NFL prospect Trinton Sturdivant from a knee injury. The OSU defensive front seven put up decent numbers against the run last season, but when push came to shove, it got flattened by Oregon and Oklahoma. Now it’ll be without starting LB Orie Lemon, who suffered a torn ACL, that’ll take away a key run stopper. Georgia needs to run for over 200 yards and control the game to win, and it should be able to.
Why Oklahoma State might win: Fine, so Georgia might end winning the time of possession battle, but that might partly be due to some quick strikes from the OSU offense. Georgia has NFL-caliber offensive weapons, but this isn’t likely to be an explosive attack from the get-go. QB Joe Cox is more of a move-the-chains type of passer and the Bulldog offense might have to rely on being opportunistic early on. If the defense isn’t forcing big mistakes, or if it’s not doing enough for the Dawgs to win the field position battle, Cox and the offense could be in comeback mode for most of the game. Considering the secondary could be Georgia’s shakiest unit coming into the season, at least compared to the rest of the loaded team, it could be bombs away. Just where does it say how we might win?
Who to watch: The NFL scouts will watch this game dozens of times over the next several months with the keenest eyes likely to be on the superstar wide receivers. Last season was supposed to be all about the arrival of top receiver prospect Julio Jones at Alabama, but Georgia then-freshman A.J. Green had the better year. He has the size, the speed, and the hands to make big play after big play to keep drives alive and to give the mediocre OSU secondary a nightmare of a day. On the other side, the spotlight will be on Dez Bryant, the breakout star of last season who’s being talked about as a possible top five overall pick if he comes out next season. The knock on him, unfair as it turned out to be, was that he was terrific against the mediocre teams and struggled against the elite. He lit up Oregon and scored twice against Oklahoma, but the top scouts will scratch their heads a bit if he’s held under wraps by the Bulldogs.
What will happen: The Cowboys will get their yards and their points, but the Dawgs will pull away in the fourth quarter. This will be a shootout by necessity for Georgia, with OSU getting up early and setting the tone with some home runs to fire up the base, but the Dawg O line and the running game will slowly lead the team back. The Georgia defense will come up with a few key turnovers, and a few bigger stops, to allow the Dawgs to escape from Stillwater after winning a classic.
CFN Prediction: Georgia 37 … Oklahoma State 35 ...
Line: Oklahoma State -6
Must See Rating: (Mad Men 5 … NYC Prep 1) … 5