@panzade,
panzade wrote:
The odds makers have made FSU a 9.5 favorite though I would bet the house on Auburn covering that spread. All you have to do is watch local hero Tre Mason(Lake Worth Fl) run for 300 yds in a title game to know the Seminoles will have tough time containing him.
Any predictions?
Well FSU struggles (to a degree) against teams with big bad offensive lines. That's what the commentators said during the Miami game. BC has one, and they gave the Noles more trouble than anyone else did. What kind of challenge Auburn will be able to mount will depend on whether they have a big punishing offensive line or not. Do they? Does anyone know? I know they have a heck of a running game, with over 500 yards on Saturday against Missouri, but I'm just wondering whether that's due more to the speed of their skilled position players rather than a big O-Line. The SEC commentators didn't talk much about Auburn's O-Line but rather about skill and finesse and the genius of their Triple Option offense. Still, I'd assume their lineman are pretty big and bad, just judging by the yardage they've been able to rack up against the SEC. I won't predict a winner, but I'll predict that Auburn will beat the spread.
What a game Ohio State vs. Michigan State was! I hope pan and others got a chance to see it. It was all about the elite Buckeye offense (possibly the most dynamic in the country) going against the elite Spartan defense (undoubtedly the best in the country). It was a game of thirds. Sparty shut down the Buckeyes early, going up 17-0. In the middle third, Ohio State didn't exactly "have their way" with the Spartan defense, but they managed to do just enough to keep driving until they'd racked up 24 straight points to go up 24-17. And then something weird happened. It was like the Spartans turned off the faucet that the Buckeye offense was flowing from. In the last third of the game. Ohio State got the ball in great field position repeatedly and did absolutely nothing with it every time. They had a monstrous O-Line and seemed to be able to get 3 or 4 yards at will for a while, but in the last third the Spartans toughened up and denied them first downs on very short yardage. And in the last third of the game it the Bucks weren't completing any passes either. Coverage was perfect.