The week 6 schedule gives us our first Monster Week of the 2012 season. There are 5 matchups around the nation that puts two ranked teams against each other, and even though October just started this weekend will go a long way in determining conference standings. Even though I focus most of my analysis on Michigan and the B1G, this week I will go through each of these 5 games and try to choose the winner.
#4LSU @ #10 Florida Saturday 3:30pm
The Tigers head into the Swamp still holding onto their regular season winning streak, but it might be in jeopardy this weekend. LSU looked completely dominant against a good Washington team in week 2, but now have had 2 less-than-stellar performances against bad teams (Auburn and Townson). The Tigers lack an identity on offense. Les Miles wants to play B1G style of football with big running backs that get 4 yards a carry, and then offset that with an efficient play-action passing attack. So far this season, the efficient quarterback is not there which is putting too much pressure on the running attack. They will not be able to bully Florida this weekend. Meanwhile, Florida is 4-0 under Muschamp and trending up. The Gators werent really supposed t compete in the SEC East with Georgia or South Carolina, but at this point they look like the favorite. Florida is led by their offensive line, which will face its toughest test of the season Saturday afternoon. The Gators are averaging over 200 yards on the ground so far this year. I cannot see this game being very high scoring. I think if LSU is able to get an early lead, and force Florida to throw the ball more, the dominating pass rush will cause a lot of problems for Jeff Driskel. Even though LSU looks like a shell of itself from 2011, I think they are able to wear down both Florida lines to control the ball game. I just think LSU has too many play-makers on the defensive side of the ball to allow Florida to win this game.
#8 West Virginia @ #11 Texas Saturday 7:00pm
The nation will be watching this one to see if Geno Smith can duplicate his video game numbers against an actual defense. The buzz around Morgantown has rarely been larger, and after putting up 70 points in their first test of the season, most Mountaineer fans are thinking national championship. The problem with this mindset is, as fun as it is to watch your team rack up points, you are going to need a defense eventually. Will this be the week? The West Virginia receiving corps is one of the best groups I have ever seen. They know how to get open, and Geno Smith seems extremely comfortable with them. I don't think there is a defensive secondary in the nation that could lock them up for an entire 60 minutes. Texas is largely considered to have the Big12's best defense, which really isn't saying much. This conference might be the worst defensively in the country. Only new addition, TCU, has a plus defensive unit. The problem here though is all Texas has to do is force the Mountaineers to punt a few times and they will have the advantage. Yes, the West Virginia offense is better than Texas', but Texas will have the benefit of going against one of the worst defenses in the top 10. Texas should manage to score 45+ points on Saturday night against the Mountaineers. I actually think this will be enough to give the Longhorns the win. Look for Geno Smith to throw his first interception of the season though. On a side note, Smith's season so far is strangely similar to RGIII in 2011.
#6 South Carolina @ #5 Georgia Saturday 7:00pm
This game will be both team's first real conference test in their quest to head to Atlanta for the SEC Championship game to play Alabama. As much hype as Georgia's defense has been getting, their offense might be better. Yes, Georgia has the most NFL talent on the defensive side of the ball, but they seem to take plays off which came back to bite them a lot last weekend against Tennessee. Aaron Murray is the best quarterback in the conference, and will likely be a top 10 draft pick when he decides to leave school. The Bulldogs are extremely balanced on offense. They are led by 2 freshman running backs who have rushed for almost 1,000 yards combined already. The threat of running has helped Murray and his receivers as well. He is completing nearly 70% of his passes, and has thrown for 1300+ yards already. This game will be higher scoring than the first SEC game previewed here. South Carolina continues to underwelm me. The Gamecocks should have lost their season opener at Vanderbilt, and ever since then I have thought they were over-rated. Well, they haven't lost yet, so they continue to move up in the rankings. The SC quarterback Connor Shaw has been injured for part of the year, which leaves them with pre-season Heisman hopeful, Marcus Lattimore. To continue with the trend, he has been very underwhelming so far this season as well. The Gamecock defense is very talented, and might be able to slow the Bulldogs down. I just cannot see how the South Carolina offense will be able to keep up with Murray and company without special teams or turnovers. Georgia could make this a little lopsided compared to the rankings before the game.
#21 Nebraska @ #12 Ohio State Saturday 8:00pm
This game might be the best game in the entire B1G season, and as much as it hurts, Michigan fans need Ohio State to win for the second week in a row. We learned a little more about who this Buckeye team is last week when they traveled to East Lansing and took care of business. It was not a very pretty game for the 2nd year in a row, but they still got the win. It looks like Ohio State is the conferences best team right now, but Nebraska is the favorite to represent in the Rose Bowl. The Husker defense took a step forward last weekend against Wisconsin in the 2nd half, and it will be important for them to carry that momemtum into Columbus on Saturday night. Nebraska struggled to stop a UCLA offense with fewer weapons than this Buckeye team. I think the run defense is still a big question in Lincoln, and it will be tested over and over again this weekend. Braxton Miller will likley put up similar stats to the non-conference games, and as Nebraska keys on the run, Miller will be able to hurt them through the air. On the other side of the ball, Taylor Martinez leads the conference's best offense against an unknown defense. The Buckeyes dominated an inept Spartan offense last week, but will meet their stiffest test of the season this week. They were able to contain Le'Veon Bell, but the task is much easier when the passing attack in East Lansing looks like a triple option high school team. Martinez should be able to break a few big plays Saturday night, but I dont think the Husker offense will be able to match the Buckeye consistency. Ohio State should escape with the win.
#23 Washington @ #2 Oregon Saturday 10:00pm
If you have read my college football analysis this season, you know that I like this year's Washington team. The Huskies are beginning to turn things around to be a respectable Pac12 team again. They are fresh off an upset win over Stanford last week, and have had an extra few days to prepare for Oregon's speed. The Huskies do have decent team speed on both sides of the ball, but Oregon has some size and speed on their offensive line. If you remember, Washington got blown off the ball all night in Baton Rouge against LSU, and will likely receive the same treatment this week in Autzen. LSU put up a lot of points on this young defense, and there is no reason to think that Oregon will not do the same. Keith Price should be able to make a few plays in the passing game to give the Washington fans something to cheer about, but Oregon looks locked in to compete for a national championship this year.
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