Baltimore Sports and Life
#14 Syracuse plays #5 Clemson at home at noon ET. The winner will be playing for the Atlantic Division title in Charlotte. DJ Uiagalelei has been the key to Clemson's success. Syracuse is 6-0 and has a lethal dual-threat quarterback in Garrett Shrader. Both teams have good defenses. Syracuse has enough playmakers to make it closer than a 13.5-13.50 spread. It's unlikely that Syracuse will upset Clemson. They play at their home stadium.
#9 UCLA plays #10 Oregon in a Pac-12 championship game. The winner will play for the title in the newly reconfigured conference standings. Chip Kelly makes another return to Autzen Stadium. Both teams have explosive offenses, but their defenses are not as good as they should be. The game will come down to the defenses. UCLA's defense is better than its offense. Oregon's offense is more efficient. Their defense has been more respectable at home. They have been less so away from home, especially against Georgia and Washington State. Bruins' only road game was at Colorado. It's not on their level.
#20 Texas plays Oklahoma State in a crucial Big 12 game. Both teams have lost their last games. Quinn Ewers is the unquestioned starter for Texas. The Cowboys are 6.5 points favorites. They are 4th in the FBS in scoring, but they haven't scored a touchdown in last week's loss at TCU. They lead the conference with 2.83 sacks per game, and they are good at pressuring the quarterback.
#24 Mississippi State plays #6 Alabama at 7 pm ET on ESPN. The game is a rematch of a 2014 game, which Alabama won. Mississippi has a 14-game losing streak in the series. Alabama leads the country in penalties, while Mississippi is 26th. Bryce Young led the Tide to a comeback win at Tennessee last week. Will Rogers is having a big season, ranking third in country with 23 touchdown passes and second in passing yards (2,324). Alabama's offense is not built to score on the Bulldogs' offense. The spread is 21 points. I don't see Alabama losing this game.
#17 Kansas State plays #8 TCU in a Big 12 game on Saturday at 8 pm ET. Kansas lost to Tulane last season, but since then they have beaten Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Iowa State and last week they beat Oklahoma State. TCU is third in the country in both points scored and yardage gained per game. The team is also unbeaten. The game is a good chance for TCU to pressure the Wildcats' quarterback Adrian Martinez. He and Deuce Vaughn are the only running back duo in college football with more than 500 yards rushing. They have nine rushing touchdowns. KSU will want to play ball-control style and keep the Frogs' offense on the bench.
Mike is a Baltimore native living in Portland, OR since 2007. He currently runs his own business specializing in video production and online marketing. Mike also worked for 9 years at Johns Hopkins University and 6 years in the Air Force.
