Week 11 Games of Note

I was pretty hard pressed to find a few games to write about for my weekly 2nd tier predictions. I was able to stretch it and find 5 game to write about this week. For analysis on the other games of the week, located on the right side of the blog, please check out the podcast. Miami @ Maryland - The Canes are playing with heavy hearts this week and it wouldn't be surprising to anyone if their minds have been on other things besides Maryland. The Terps are 7-2 and are looking to keep pace with Wake Forest in the ACC Atlantic. Kirby Freeman will be the starting QB for Miami, with the injury to Kyle Wright and the Canes will also be without a few other key starters . Maryland has two losses this season against WVU and Georgia Tech so they are for real this season. I see the Canes winning this one because they are all going to rally around each other and play together as a team for the first time this season. Miami 20-17. Boise State @ San Jose State - See I told you I was stretching it for good games this week. This game against the Spartans and their final game against Nevada are all that stands between Boise State and a BCS Bowl Game. San Jose State is 6-2 and is no push over but I expect the Broncos to come out on top since I don't see the Spartans being able to win a shootout with Boise State. Both RB Ian Johnson and QB Jared Zabransky should be able to put up some nice offensive numbers like always. I see this game staying close in the first half before the Broncos offense gallops away in the 2nd. Boise State 40-21. Texas Tech @ Oklahoma - The Sooners survived a scare last week against Texas A&M,but they found their running back of the future if Peterson decides to go to the NFL after this season. Allen Patrick had a career high 173 yards in the win last week. Texas Tech is still killing teams through the air. Graham Harrell had 483 yards passing last week in their win against Baylor and Oklahoma has shown they have trouble defending the pass. The Red Raiders have been playing well of late, but I don't think they have enough to pull off the victory against Oklahoma in Norman. It'll be high scoring. Oklahoma 38-33. Oregon State @ UCLA - The Beavers showed that their win against USC was not a fluke by putting together their 4th win in a row as they drubbed Arizona State 44-10. UCLA has been struggling a lot of late ever since they lost Ben Olson to injury. They put a scare into California but fell short losing their 4th in a row. UCLA needs to win two of their final 3 games to become bowl eligible. I am going to play the odds here and say that Oregon State will win their 5th in a row. Beavers' QB Matt Moore lights it up in LA. Oregon State 31-15. Alabama @ LSU - LSU is definately the best two loss team in the country and is probably one of the top 7 teams in the nation as their only two losses have come against Florida and Auburn. Alabama on the other hand suffered an embarrassing defeat to Mississippi State. JaMarcus Russell finally got the monkey off his back in the win against Tennessee. Many said he fell apart in the big games. The important fact to this game is that it is a night game in LSU. Almost impossible for an opposing team to win there, especially one that is struggling. LSU 29-7. Georgia @ Auburn - Georgia along with Iowa are running neck and neck for the most overrated team of this year. The Bulldogs have lost their last two games to Florida and Kentucky. Yes Kentucky. Auburn has cruised as of late but that has more to do with their weak schedule the past 3 games. The Tigers also have a second chance in getting into the BCS Championship picture now that Rutgers knocked off Louisville. The Auburn defense will wreck havoc with Matthew Stafford while the Auburn offense lead by Brandon Cox will do just enough to win again. The running back combo of Brad Lester and Kenny Irons will be too much for the Georgia defense to handle. Auburn 27-20.