28 August 2007

Must See College Football Games (Part Two)


Get your calender back out because the second half of the College Football season should prove to be even more exciting than the first half.

Thursday October 25th on prime time TV we will get to see maybe the best college quarterback for the 2008 NFL Draft. QB Matt Ryan from Boston College plays against a very tough Virginia Tech team. Virginia Tech is 13-2 in nationally televised games and guess who they lost to? Yep, Boston College, including a 22-3 defeat last year. Virginia Tech clearly has the better team and junior cornerback Brandon Flowers will be ale to shut down half the field. Another player that NFL Scouts will be salivating over is Boston College left tackle Gosder Cherilus (6' 6" 320 lbs), with a strong senior campaign Cherilus could sneak into the later part of the first round of the 2008 NFL Draft.

At least one game on October 27th figures to be an offensive shootout for the ages. West Virginia at Rutgers will highlight three of the best running backs in college football if you include speedy West Virginia quarterback Pat White. Rutgers will hand the ball off to future NFL Draft pick Ray Rice who scored 20 touchdowns last year. West Virginia not only has speedy quarterback Pat White, who will probably be the fastest player on the field with sub 4.40 speed, but they also have multi-faceted running back Steve Slaton, who finished the 2006 season with 245 carries for 1,733 yards and 16 TDs. Watch Slaton line up all over the field Ala Reggie Bush.

The November 3rd match-up between LSU and Alabama should be one of the most hyped games of the year because Nick Saban will be coaching against his former LSU team. This game is at Alabama and Saban will have the Tide up for this game. LSU will face one of their biggest road tests of the season. On paper LSU is clearly the better team, but Alabama will have home field advantage and a fired up Saban, this could be an upset. Two of the best senior receivers in the nation will be on the field in this one, LSU has Early Doucet and Alabama has D.J. Hall, both of these prospects have early round NFL Draft Potential, especially Doucet.

West Virginia has to come right back on November 8th and play another big game against Louisville. If Matt Ryan isn't the top quarterback for the 2008 NFL Draft then it will probably be Louisville's Brian Brohm. The Cardinals have maybe the best pair of wide receivers in the nation in Harry Douglas and 6'5" 225 pound junior Mario Urrutia. On defense Louisville has one of the top senior linebackers in the nation in Malik Jackson. I wouldn't be surprised to see Jackson selected in the first round of the 2008 NFL Draft. Louisville has a very interesting linebacker on the squad this year named Willie Williams, his story is to lengthy to go into here, but NFL Draft Dog has an interesting Scouting Report on him.

November 10th might be the date that the Big Ten conference is decided when the two heavyweights collide. Michigan plays at Wisconsin and the Badgers are a dangerous team. Even though he will only be a sophomore this season, Wisconsin running back P.J. Hill is one of the best running backs in the nation. Junior Tight End Travis Beckum presents matchup problems for defenses because he has wide receiver speed, but he stays in and blocks quite a bit and you never know when he is going to burst into the open field and catch a deep pass. On the defensive side of the ball I have already heard NFL Scouts talk about junior cornerback Jack Ikegwuonu. The other game that I like on November 10th is Florida at South Carolina. The Gamecocks have a dangerous team and Steve Spurrier would love to upset his former team.

The November 17th rivalry game between Ohio State and Michigan is always exciting. This year Ohio State is not the favorite, but don't count the Buckeyes out just yet. Yes they lost Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith and they will be starting unproven, inexperienced QB Todd Boeckman, but Boeckman is no freshman, he is a senior that has been quietly waiting for his chance to start for three years. Boeckman might be one of the sleeper picks for the 2008 NFL Draft as he has a strong arm and nice size (6' 4" 235 lbs). Most college football fans will be talking about Ohio State sophomore running back Chris Wells by this time of the year. Big and very fast, Wells looks to be one of the top running backs for the 2009/2010 NFL Draft.

November 23rd might be one of the best games of the entire season pitting Boise State at Hawaii. The Boise State Broncos shocked Oklahoma last year and they are loaded with talent on both sides of the ball. The name to watch in this game however is Hawaii's record setting quarterback Colt Brennan. This is the Rainbows and Brennan's make or break game. On the line for Brennan is a possible Heisman Trophy and a chance to be a first round draft pick. If Brennan lays an egg, he could really slip in the 2008 NFL Draft. Not everyone is sold on Brennan as an NFL Prospect so this game will be huge. All that aside, this should be a fun to watch high scoring shoot out.

The classic in-state rivalry between Florida and Florida State (FSU) will be played on November 24th. Florida might be undefeated and looking ahead to next weeks conference championship game. This would be a bad idea as FSU will once again field a solid team with a fearsome defense. Florida sophomore all-purpose threat Percy Harvin can score with the football any time he gets his hands on it and outside linebacker/pass rusher extraordinaire Derrick Harvey will make things miserable for the Florida State quarterback. The Seminoles won't be a push over however, with defensive tackle Andre Fluellen clogging up the running lanes and getting after the QB, he might make a rude introduction to Florida QB Tim Tebow.


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