Is a spot in the College Football Playoff on the line for Texas as the Longhorns travel to Baton Rouge to face LSU? Can Texas A&M upset Tennessee? Does Houston have a chance to make the CFP?
Columnists Kirk Bohls and Cedric Golden tackle 10 questions ahead of this week’s games:
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Is this game against LSU a must-win for Texas in terms of the College Football Playoff?
BOHLS: No, it’s not. It’s more of a need-to-win game to remove postseason uncertainty and pretty much guarantee a CFP spot for the third time in four years. The Longhorns can earn their fifth Top 25 win of the season. No other team has more than three. The Tigers’ chances are on life support, however, because their best wins are against Clemson, Texas A&M and Auburn.
GOLDEN: The Longhorns should approach it that way, but it’s not. The win at Missouri gave them some CFP wiggle room. With four wins over ranked opponents and two over teams in the top 10, the Horns will make it even if they lose to LSU, as long as they take care of business against Arkansas and Texas A&M. I’m taking Texas to win 31-28 in what promises to be a shootout.
What factor will likely determine the winner of the game in Baton Rouge?
BOHLS: Forgive me for repeating myself, but the offensive line is without question the key. The group played better against Missouri and will have to protect Arch Manning again. He was sacked seven times by Oklahoma and Florida, and Texas averaged 110 rushing yards in those two losses. To deliver a 31-28 win, Texas needs to allow no more than two sacks and produce at least 100 yards on the ground.
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GOLDEN: Turnover margin. Both teams are minus-4, which isn’t up to standard for most title teams. The offensive line that protects the best and gives its quarterback a clean pocket will likely limit turnovers and get the win.
It’s been a tough season for Texas A&M and coach Mike Elko, but an upset over Tennessee would change the equation. (LG Patterson/AP Photo/LG Patterson)
Can Texas A&M derail Tennessee’s postseason hopes?
BOHLS: Yes, it can and will. Great defense notwithstanding, the Volunteers are a different team on the road than they are at home. Marcel Reed has as many interceptions (eight) as touchdowns. Mike Elko hopes his A&M team can go from inept to, at least, ept. His Aggies played tough in road losses to Alabama and South Carolina and will pull off the 19-14 upset. Yes, they will score a touchdown.
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GOLDEN: The Aggies can, but they won’t. Texas A&M is broken, and there won’t be a fix this season. Tennessee isn’t a road juggernaut, but good defense travels, and the Volunteers will do enough to keep a reeling Aggies offense under wraps in a 24-20 win. This thing went off the rails weeks ago, and Mike Elko has been helpless to stop the bleeding. 5-7 is happening. It’s been a season to forget in College Station.
Will Houston make a serious run at a CFP berth?
BOHLS: I believe so. After moving up three spots to No. 14 in the CFP rankings, the Cougars, who played Colorado late Friday, are confident and getting outstanding play from Conner Weigman. They have only one signature win, over Oklahoma State, and one-score losses to Texas Tech and Utah, but are poised to break through if Tech and BYU stumble.
Conner Weigman has UH in contention for the Big 12 title game, although the Cougars may need some help. (Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle)
GOLDEN: I don’t see it because their only quality win was against Oklahoma State, which sits at No. 25. Losing to Texas Tech and Utah was obviously not ideal. If the Cowboys can beat Texas Tech in Stillwater, the Cougars can move up the Big 12 standings a bit, but the odds of the dominoes falling into place to somehow force a tiebreaker and get into the title game … I’m not saying it’s impossible because Big 12 history tells us anything can happen. Remember 2008, Longhorn fans?
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How do you assess the Heisman race, and who is a dark-horse candidate people are sleeping on?
BOHLS: This is as strange and complex a race as I can remember. The two best players in college football are wide receivers Jeremiah Smith and Malachi Toney, but a below-average quarterback at Ohio State and ankle surgery for Toney have hurt their causes. So I’m leaning toward Miami quarterback Darian Mensah and Notre Dame’s C.J. Carr – my preseason pick – and think Ohio State’s Drew Mestemaker deserves more love.
GOLDEN: Miami quarterback Darian Mensah is still a big-time contender, but losing fellow Heisman candidate Malachi Toney to ankle surgery will hurt his chances moving forward. I’ll give Notre Dame’s C.J. Carr the edge at this point. As for a dark horse, keep an eye on Oklahoma State QB Drew Mestemaker, who has topped 300 yards passing with multiple touchdowns in eight straight games.
HEAR ME OUT: Which upset has been your favorite this season?
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What is your lock of the week against the spread?
BOHLS: Sign me up for Oklahoma State minus-3½ at home over No. 12 Texas Tech. Defense figures to be in short supply in Stillwater.
GOLDEN: There’s no such thing as a lock when it comes to the Golden picks. If I owned a bank, it would be the most robbed bank in America. So here goes nothing: UCLA is 8-0-1 against the spread, so I’ll roll with the Bruins minus-10½ at home against UNLV.
With Philip Rivers expected to get the North Carolina State head coaching job, what other former NFL player would make a great college coach?
BOHLS: I’ll go with Tom Brady, who should answer the call of duty and rescue his alma mater, Michigan. In fact, the Wolverines should name him player-coach.
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GOLDEN: I always wondered if Texas ex Colt McCoy would be interested in coaching. He was a great student of the game and commanded the respect of the entire locker room. Colt always felt like a coach on the field and played under two of the best in Mack Brown and Greg Davis. I’m not sure that would be a path for him and Rachel with four young children.
Pick a noncontender team that could be the ultimate spoiler this season.
BOHLS: I’ll take unranked SMU (7-2), which will knock off Wake Forest this weekend and scare the daylights out of Notre Dame the following week. The Mustangs are 12-0 at home in ACC games.
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GOLDEN: One need only look to College Station. If the Longhorns lose at LSU, the Aggies and their No. 28-ranked defense could ruin their season by knocking them out of the postseason on Black Friday.
What likely consequence of the expanded 24-team field worries you the most?
BOHLS: It will dilute the drama from marquee matchups because, in the new world, we will be glued to the Miami-Notre Dame game, but it won’t have the same suspense and intrigue – or consequences – that it did under the 12-team system.
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GOLDEN: The regular season will become awash in Power Four teams scheduling creampuffs in nonconference play. Let’s be thankful that teams like Texas, Notre Dame and Ohio State are willing to play one another early in the season to keep things spicy.
What rivalry game tops your bucket list?
BOHLS: I still want to take in an Army-Navy game. I’d also love to check out the Yale-Princeton game, which was first played in 1873, just a couple of years before I started covering college football.
GOLDEN: There are so many good ones out there, but give me Alabama-Auburn. There’s so much hatred in that rivalry, and now that Auburn may be on the come-up under new coach Alex Golesh at 5-4, with winnable bowl-clinching games coming up against Mississippi State and Samford, things could heat up in the next couple of years.
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This article originally published at Must-win for UT at LSU? Can A&M upset Tennessee? UH in CFP? | A Texas take on college football.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
