Road Trip, Road Trip, Road Trip

GEORGIA +2 @ Tennessee

A lot of people, including pollsters and Georgia fans, are down on the Dawgs as they have already lost two games. Their 3-2 record is nothing to crow about, but keep in mind that both Georgia losses came to teams ranked in the top 5 at the time.

Tennessee is not even close to being a ranked team. The Vols’ 2-3 record includes home losses to UCLA and Auburn. Everyone knows that UT wants to run the ball with Hardesty to control the clock and rely on their defense to try and win the game for them. The problem is that Georgia is very good against the run and Crompton will not be able to exploit the secondary which is the weakness of the Georgia D.

Georgia DE Justin Houston has come on the last two games after serving a suspension and can pressure the shaky Crompton. The Dawgs had six sacks last week against LSU. Look for freshman RB Ealey to provide a much needed spark in the Georgia running game and TE Orson Charles to exploit the middle of the UT cover-2 defense.

NEBRASKA -3 @ Missouri (Thursday)

Mizzou has managed to rack up a 4-0 record and a top 25 ranking with a wins over 1-AA Furman and three other teams with a combined record of 3-10. The Tigers were picked by Big 12 media to finish 5th in the North before the season started and their undefeated record really has not done anything to dispel that prediction considering the competition. Its true that Mizzou has blown out Nebraska the past two seasons, but with Daniel and Macklin gone that is more motivation for the Huskers than a trend that applies to this game.

I picked against Nebraska when they played at Virginia Tech, but they impressed me with their tough defense and resolve on the road before losing by one in the last minute. Missouri has had a very hard time running the ball so far this year so look for the stout Nebraska front to completely eliminate the threat of the run. A Nebraska advantage in the run game could be very important here as the forecast calls for rain.

WISCONSIN +16 @ Ohio State

This line is out of control. The Buckeyes are the class of the Big 10 as usual, but the Badgers are playing well and are 5-0, 2-0 in conference. The Badgers love to use a power run game with tailback John Clay to churn first downs and eat up the clock, which should play into covering a large spread. Ohio State may have some trouble stopping that run game with starting DT Larimore out for the game. The Bucks also will be without starting OL Cordle and several other Buckeyes have had the flu this week.

Ohio State has blown out its last three opponents, but those were overmatched teams in Illinois, Toledo, and Indiana. In their first two home games against better teams (Navy and USC) Ohio St. won by 4 and lost by 3. The Badgers will not be intimidated by Ohio State, as they have held second half leads against them in both of their last two matchups. Expect Wisconsin to be ahead of the spread the entire game and they have an outside shot at the upset.